Altair Minerals Forms World-Class Exploration Team for Greater Oko Gold Project
Altair Minerals has made a strategic move in its pursuit of a potentially transformative gold discovery in Guyana by appointing accomplished exploration geologist Pascal Van Osta as Head of Exploration for the Greater Oko Gold Project. This appointment completes the formation of what the company describes as a "world-class exploration team" with fieldwork set to commence imminently.
The Greater Oko Gold Project represents a significant opportunity for Altair Minerals to establish itself as a major player in Guyana's emerging gold sector. With a strategic land position and experienced leadership team, the company is well-positioned to pursue what could become a transformative discovery.
Reuniting the Team Behind Guyana's Largest Gold Discovery
The appointment of Pascal Van Osta represents a significant milestone for Altair, as it effectively reunites key members of the team responsible for the 10Moz Toroparu gold discovery in Guyana. Van Osta previously served as Exploration Manager for the Toroparu discovery team under the guidance of Altair's current In-Country Executive Director Rich Munson.
"Rich Munson and Pascal Van Osta previously worked together as CEO and Exploration Manager, respectively, on making the largest gold discovery in Guyana this century at Toroparu," noted Altair CEO Faheem Ahmed. "We are essentially looking to reunite the Toroparu team back together at Greater Oko, however, with more experience and better geological tools and understanding behind us this time round."
Van Osta brings over 30 years of mineral exploration experience throughout West Africa and the Guiana Shield, with an impressive track record of discoveries including:
- Tabakoroni (Syama Complex – Mali)
- Samira Hill (Niger)
- Agbaou (Ivory Coast)
- Morila (Mali)
- Toroparu (Guyana)
The Greater Oko Project: Strategic Position in Emerging Gold Belt
Altair's Greater Oko Gold Project represents the largest exploration project in Guyana, covering 592km² of contiguous land within one of the most prominent emerging greenstone belts globally. The project is located just 1.5km away from a 5.9Moz discovery that is expected to enter production in the next 18 months.
CEO Faheem Ahmed describes the Greater Oko Gold Project as "The Last El Dorado," noting that Altair has "the largest exploration project in a Country which remains completely underexplored but hosts the same gold endowment as Ivory Coast, Ghana, Burkina Faso and Guinea, without the political risk."
Furthermore, this strategic land position gives Altair Minerals a significant first-mover advantage in what could become one of the world's next major gold districts.
Understanding the Guiana Shield: West Africa's Geological Twin
The Guiana Shield represents an extension of West African geology, consisting of the same Birimian Greenstone belt that has underpinned world-class gold discoveries across West Africa. This geological connection exists because the two regions were once connected before the opening of the Atlantic Ocean.
The shared geological characteristics between the Guiana Shield and West Africa's gold-rich Birimian Shield explains why similar exploration strategies can be effective in both regions. This geological twinning provides Altair with confidence in applying proven West African exploration models to their Guyanese assets.
Van Osta's extensive experience across both these geological regions makes him particularly well-suited to lead exploration at the Greater Oko Gold Project, as he brings specialised knowledge of the shared geological characteristics that have proven highly prospective for significant gold discoveries.
Upcoming Fieldwork Programme
The company's imminent fieldwork programme will focus on testing the 10km strike of the Oko Shear that extends from the 9Moz of discoveries made within a 5km strike directly to the north. Key targets include:
- E1 & W1 Targets: Testing extensions of open geochemical anomalies (>100ppb Au) which show a larger geochemical footprint than the nearby Oko West deposit
- S1 Target: Located 3km south of E1 & W1 Targets on the Oko Shear Zone with a coinciding magnetic high and significant historic gold production
- S2 Target: A magnetic high 2km south of S1 Target with significant historic gold operations directly to the south
The fieldwork will initially consist of large-scale soil sampling and trenching to define targets for a subsequent drilling phase.
Following a Proven Discovery Model in Guyana
Altair's exploration strategy follows a proven discovery model that has led to major gold discoveries in Guyana:
- Rich historic goldfields with small to medium scale artisanal operations indicating a major source of gold
- Identification of shear structures and deformation zones
- Soil sampling and trenching to define target for primary source
- Drilling
"The source for all this gold mineralisation that these Alluvials have been mining, still hasn't been discovered, and that from an explorationist point of view is where the excitement is," noted the Ex-VP of Exploration at Reunion Gold.
This systematic approach has been successfully applied to discover major gold deposits in Guyana including Toroparu (10Moz), Aurora (8Moz), Oko West (6Moz), and the OMZ & Ghanie discoveries (3Moz).
Guyana's Emerging Gold Sector
Guyana has rapidly emerged as a premier gold jurisdiction, drawing increasing attention from major players in the gold exploration space. The country hosts an extension to West African geology, consisting of the same Birimian Greenstone that has underpinned world-class gold discoveries across West Africa.
Current public companies actively drilling across the Guiana Shield have achieved impressive market capitalisations:
- G2 Goldfields: $1 Billion Market Capitalisation
- Reunion Gold: $1 Billion Takeover by GMining Ventures
- Founders Metals: $500M Market Capitalisation
- Greenheart Gold: $162M Market Capitalisation
- OMAI Gold Mines: $700M Market Capitalisation
Altair's Strategic Advantage in the Greater Oko Project
What sets Altair Minerals apart is its ability to secure a large contiguous land package in a country where permits are typically fragmented into small blocks held by private citizens. Through its joint venture with Adamantium Exploration Inc., Altair has overcome a significant barrier to entry that has prevented many major mining companies from establishing a meaningful presence in Guyana.
The company also benefits from the unmatched knowledge of its vendors, who have been running gold operations focused on surface saprolite and alluvial material for decades, providing Altair with bespoke insights into the most enriched zones across the country.
World-Class Exploration Team
The senior members of the Greater Oko Gold Project exploration team currently consist of:
Rich Munson – Country Executive Director & Manager
- Raised over US $500M for mineral projects in Guyana
- CEO of ETK/Sandspring where he led making the largest greenfield gold discovery this century (Toroparu)
- Led ETK/Sandspring from the first hole to >10Moz Au in the space of 10 years
Pascal Van Osta – Head of Exploration
- Previously Exploration Manager for the team that led to the 10Moz Au Toroparu discovery
- Held senior positions at Etruscan Resources and Endeavour Mining
- Specialist in orogenic greenstone gold discoveries and exploration in the Birimian and Guiana shield
- Track record of discoveries including Tabakoroni, Samira Hill, Agbaou, Morila, and Toroparu
GexplOre – Geophysics and Drill Targeting Geological Firm
- Conducted initial structural and petrological work that refined drill targets at the adjoining Oko West deposit
- Conducted grassroots geological work which contributed to the successful drill targeting leading to discovery of Antino Gold Project
- Funding the completion of a PhD on structural controls for gold mineralisation in Oko
- Co-founded by the previous Exploration Manager for Reunion Gold
What This Means for Investors
For investors following Altair Minerals, the formation of this world-class exploration team and imminent commencement of fieldwork represents a significant step toward potentially unlocking substantial value. The Greater Oko Gold Project is being pursued with a systematic approach to exploration in a proven gold region, led by a team with prior success in making major discoveries in the same geological setting.
With the due diligence process expected to complete ahead of schedule, Altair anticipates being able to advance both South Oko and North Peters targets to drilling stage simultaneously, potentially creating a consistent flow of exploration catalysts in the near future.
"We thank shareholders for their continual support as we progress through the infancy stages of what Altair believes will be a 'Company Maker' Project and what we believe will become the most prominent gold asset in the Country," concludes CEO Faheem Ahmed.
The Greater Oko Gold Project represents a strategic opportunity in a country that remains significantly underexplored despite sharing geological characteristics with some of the world's most productive gold regions. With a world-class exploration team now assembled and fieldwork set to commence, investors will be watching closely for results from what could potentially be a transformative asset for the company.
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