Altair Minerals Accelerates Drilling at South Oko and North Peters

• Maiden RC drilling started at South Oko (15,000m) and North Peters (2,000m)
• Three rigs active across Greater Oko with drilling rate targeting ~8,000m/month
• Trenching at South Oko W1 target shows high-grade gold including 10m @ 10.15g/t Au
• Drilling aims to test mineralisation continuity beneath duricrust cover
• Greater Oko hosts 9.4Moz Au in nearby deposits along the Oko Shear Contact

Drilling Ramp-Up Marks New Exploration Phase

Altair Minerals (ASX:ALR) has entered a defining stage of its Greater Oko gold project with maiden Reverse Circulation (RC) drilling now underway at two priority zones: South Oko (SOKO) and North Peters (NP). The company has three rigs active across the district, aiming to reach a steady-state drilling rate of approximately 8,000 metres per month by October 2026. This operational scale-up signals a transition from target generation to aggressive, multi-front discovery drilling.

At South Oko, the 15,000-metre Phase I RC program focuses on the W1 target, a zone recently elevated in priority following trenching results that revealed broad gold mineralisation across a 1.2km by 1.0km footprint. Notably, trench TR-W1-06 returned 10 metres at 10.15 grams per tonne (g/t) gold, ranking as one of the most significant trench intercepts along the Oko Shear Contact to date.

South Oko’s W1 Target: Mineralisation Beneath Duricrust

The W1 target’s mineralisation extends beneath a hard duricrust layer that has historically limited surface exploration. Deep trenches encountered high-grade gold within sheared and foliated volcanic sedimentary units but were terminated by duricrust after only a few metres. This hard cap has prevented full exposure of the mineralised shear zones, making the maiden RC drilling crucial to testing the vertical continuity and concealed structures below.

Altair’s CEO, Faheem Ahmed, emphasised the strategic timing of drilling at W1: "Recent trenching has materially strengthened W1 immediately ahead of its first systematic subsurface drill test. The work has sharpened our understanding of where the highest-priority structures may continue beneath cover and establishes a strong correlation between geophysics and mineralisation, which we can utilise as a vectoring guide." The company plans to use the RC program to rapidly map out shallow mineralisation before following up with deeper diamond drilling.

North Peters Drilling Advances Concurrently

At North Peters, maiden RC drilling of approximately 2,000 metres is progressing alongside an ongoing 5,600-metre diamond drilling campaign. This dual-rig operation targets broad and locally high-grade historical mineralisation, marking the first time Altair is drilling two major Greater Oko fronts simultaneously. The combined efforts at South Oko and North Peters reflect a significant operational ramp-up designed to accelerate discovery potential across the project.

Greater Oko’s Strategic Position in a Tier-1 Gold Belt

Altair’s Greater Oko project covers a 428 square kilometre landholding in Guyana, situated within the prolific Guiana Shield, an extension of the West African Birimian greenstone belt that hosts world-class gold deposits. The Oko Shear Contact, a major structural corridor running through the project, has yielded 9.4 million ounces of gold at an average grade of 2.5 g/t in nearby discoveries such as Oko West and Ghanie. These deposits have attracted multi-billion-dollar takeovers, underscoring the region’s prospectivity.

Within Greater Oko, Altair controls approximately 14 kilometres of strike along the Oko Shear Contact, with only 3.5 kilometres systematically covered by geochemistry to date. The company’s ongoing soil sampling and trenching programs continue to define new targets, suggesting considerable exploration upside remains.

Integrated Exploration Strategy and Next Steps

Altair’s approach combines geochemistry, trenching, geophysics, and structural mapping to build a robust exploration model. Ground Induced Polarisation (IP) surveys align with mineralised zones identified in trenches, providing vectoring tools to guide drilling. The company’s conceptual regolith model highlights the challenge posed by duricrust but also points to promising shear zones beneath.

Looking ahead, Altair anticipates that the maiden RC drilling at South Oko will delineate the extent and geometry of mineralisation, enabling prioritisation for deeper diamond drilling. The potential addition of a fourth rig at South Oko could further accelerate the campaign, with the company expecting a steady cadence of results over the next 12 months.

This phase marks the most important exploration period in Altair’s history, with multiple opportunities for discovery and value creation now being tested at the drill bit.

Bottom Line?

Altair’s expanded drilling footprint and promising trench results set the stage for a crucial 12 months of exploration, but the true scale of mineralisation beneath duricrust remains to be proven.

Questions in the middle?

• Will maiden RC drilling confirm vertical continuity of high-grade mineralisation at South Oko’s W1 target?
• How will concurrent drilling at North Peters and South Oko influence resource definition timelines?
• Can Altair extend geochemical coverage beyond the current 3.5km strike to unlock further targets along the Oko Shear Contact?