Altair Minerals Launches 30,000m Drill Program at Greater Oko in Guyana

Major Drilling Campaign Begins at North Peters and South Oko

Altair Minerals (ASX:ALR) has officially kicked off its first-ever 30,000-metre drilling program at the Greater Oko Project in Guyana, marking a significant escalation in exploration efforts. The campaign spans 12 months and splits evenly between 15,000m of diamond drilling and 15,000m of RAB drilling, initially targeting the North Peters (NP) and South Oko (SOKO) prospects.

The program aims to validate historic high-grade trench results at North Peters, where trenches have returned notable grades including 16.5 metres at 9.68 grams per tonne (g/t) gold, and to test a large untested geochemical anomaly at South Oko, which remains one of the most compelling gold targets in the district.

Historic Trenching Highlights North Peters’ Potential

North Peters is shaping up as a near-term drilling priority with exceptional historic trenching results that have informed an expanded drill scope. Noteworthy trenches include 39 metres at 3.78 g/t Au and 18 metres at 5.63 g/t Au, with mineralisation open on one or both ends, suggesting significant upside for extensional discovery.

These trenches lie on the very edge of the known mineralisation system, with some extending beyond previously tested zones, highlighting the potential for untested mineralisation along a 450-metre strike corridor. Several trenches remain untested by drilling, including 27 metres at 3.40 g/t Au and 6 metres at 2.42 g/t Au, underscoring the opportunity to expand the resource footprint.

South Oko: A Tier-1 Discovery Hunt Next Door to Billion-Dollar Deals

South Oko offers a more speculative but potentially transformative target. The project hosts the largest untested geochemical anomaly on the structurally controlled Oko Shear, a globally recognised greenstone belt. Altair controls approximately 15 kilometres of strike along this shear, adjacent to projects recently acquired for $1 billion and $3 billion by GMining Ventures, consolidating the district and positioning Altair as the last major explorer in the area.

Ongoing soil sampling and geophysical surveys have defined two large-scale targets at South Oko, with RAB drilling scheduled to commence soon after North Peters. The program will test beneath duricrust, a surface layer that typically masks geochemical signals, using short vertical holes to penetrate and delineate anomalies.

This drilling approach follows the company’s recent two major gold targets at South Oko announcement, which detailed the discovery of a blind target beneath duricrust, reinforcing the project's district-scale potential.

Strategic Positioning in Guyana’s Emerging Gold Belt

The Greater Oko Project’s 590km2 contiguous landholding is the largest in Guyana’s history, an irreplaceable asset given the typical permit fragmentation averaging just 4km2. Situated within the Guiana Shield, an extension of the prolific West African Birimian greenstone belt, the project benefits from proximity to multi-million-ounce discoveries and a politically stable mining jurisdiction.

Altair has rapidly built out its exploration infrastructure since formalising the Greater Oko transaction six months ago, including establishing a local leadership team, deploying around 40 personnel on multiple parallel workstreams, and completing extensive soil sampling, trenching, and geophysical surveys.

Drilling Strategy and Next Steps

The drilling program is designed to deliver both validation and discovery. At North Peters, RAB drilling has commenced focusing on step-out targets and infill holes to confirm historical mineralisation and test open boundaries. Diamond drilling is set to start within weeks, supported by a new core shed facility.

At South Oko, RAB drilling will follow, targeting two major geochemical anomalies and any new targets emerging from ongoing geochemical work. Altair plans to have three simultaneous drill rigs operating by the end of April, including RAB, diamond, and auger drilling, alongside continuing trenching and soil sampling. Aeromagnetic and LiDAR surveys are also expected to commence shortly, enhancing the geological model.

CEO Faheem Ahmed highlighted the program as a “significant step-change” in exploration intensity, aiming to systematically convert the project’s potential into a meaningful gold asset base. He emphasised the alignment with project vendors on a long-term growth strategy and thanked shareholders for their support as the company accelerates towards its next growth phase.