Australian firm begins drilling at massive Reg. 7 gold project

Aug 11, 2026 News

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(Kaieteur News) – Australian firm, Altair Minerals Limited has commenced drilling at one of the four targets at its massive gold project located in Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni).

The announcement made on Monday outlines that diamond drilling commenced at the North Peters (NP) target, following the launch of the company’s fully funded 75,000 metre exploration programme for the Greater Oko Gold Project which spans approximately 428 square kilometres (km²) of contiguous mining lands.

Greater Oko is twice the combined size of every active gold project in Guyana. The Greater Oko has positioned Altair as the “most dominant explorer” in Guyana. The project area consists of four advanced targets: South Oko (SOKO), North Peters (NP), Old Granny (OG) and Kmung (KM).

Altair’s initial exploration work is focusing on North Peters and SOKO. The company disclosed that Reverse Circulation (RC) drilling at North Peters is expected to commence next week, while RC drilling at SOKO is expected to commence later this month. A third drill rig expected to commence RC drilling at SOKO this month.

Altair said its robust cash balance, expansion of camps, logistics and personnel across Greater Oko has allowed the company to retain the flexibility to introduce two additional drill rigs during the fourth quarter of 2026.

According to Altair, Phase1 at North Peters is focused on validating the known mineralisation, improving the geological and structural model. The company noted that subject to the results from Phase 1, the second drill phase will focus on scalability, through expanding the mineralised footprint and testing larger extensional targets.

It explained that Phase 1 drilling will encapsulate approximately 22,600 metre of diamond drilling and Reverse Circulation drilling and will consists of 5,600 metre  diamond and 2,000 metre RC drilling at North Peters, along with 15,000 metre s RC drilling at SOKO.

Moreover, Altair noted that historic diamond drilling at North Peters has identified broad and locally high-grade mineralisation over approximately 650 metre of strike, but has not adequately resolved the continuity, geometry, or structural controls of the system. As such, the 5,600 metre Phase 1 diamond programme at North Peters is designed to test the continuity and geometry of the broad historic mineralisation; validate historic mineralised zones, test the interpreted relationship between mineralisation, the sheared intrusive contact and also establish an updated geological and structural model to guide extensional drilling.

Further, new diamond core and assay information will be integrated with the Altair’s ongoing relogging, remapping, and remodelling of the historic dataset.

The commencement of diamond drilling at North Peters marks the first active drilling stage of an aggressive and continual drill programme Altair will embark on over the next 18 months.  Altair said this represents a significant milestone in its execution of the fully funded 75,000 metre exploration programme.

Altair Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Faheem Ahmed described the commencement of drilling as a major milestone for the company.

“It is my pleasure to report that Altair has commenced its maiden diamond drilling program at Greater Oko, marking the first active drilling stage of our fully funded continuous 75,000 metre exploration campaign over the next 18 months,” Ahmed said.

He said despite a challenging and extended wet season, the company had continued to advance access, logistics and exploration preparation to allow for the execution of a large-scale drilling programme.

Ahmed said the drilling programme would help define the high-grade structural controls and geological features at North Peters, which could then be used to identify similar features elsewhere across the project.  “Although NP already presents an exceptional high-grade footprint in itself, we believe what we are currently looking at within North Peters, is a satellite to a larger host,” he said.

“With drilling underway at North Peters and SOKO expected to follow shortly, in parallel with regional target generation, Altair is entering a sustained period of drilling, results, and high-impact catalysts across Greater Oko. This is a major turning point in Altair’s exploration journey, and we believe the next 18-months will become a defining moment for the Company,” Ahmed said

Kaieteur News reported that the Australian explorer entered into an agreement with Guyanese company Adamantium Exploration Inc. that allows it to expand its landholdings in the Oko district to 3,500 square kilometres.

Last year, the company acquired the right to earn-in up to 70% interest in the Greater Oko Project. After nine months of negotiations, Altair was able to enter into a binding heads of agreement in August 2025 with Adamantium, a company that is owned by the Alphonso family.

Altair is the third explorer to enter the Oko corridor, following Canadian mining firms G Mining Ventures (GMIN) and G2 Goldfields. South Oko is positioned 1.5 km south of Oko West project which is owned by GMIN. Altair had outlined that GMIN and G2’s exploration success has already validated the untapped potential, establishing multiple tier-1 discoveries made from grassroot exploration campaigns. It added that GMIN’s and G2’s results achieved within a small fraction of the project area validate the potential for multi-million-ounce discoveries.

Altair has previously described Greater Oko as having the potential to become its “company maker” and one of the largest gold exploration projects in both Guyana and the wider Guiana Shield.

This publication also reported that Altair on its website, painted Guyana as the “last truly pro-mining” and politically stable country within the Guiana Shield. It also highlighted that Guyana mining areas host geology similar that of West African countries. Altair explained that Guyana’s mining lands consists of the same Birimian Greenstone Belt that has underpinned world-class gold discoveries across West Africa, including in Ghana, Ivory Coast, and Burkina Faso.

Altair noted however, that unlike extensive exploration in the African nations, Guyana remains significantly underexplored.

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• Altair Minerals Limited, Diamond Drill Rig, Drilling, gold, Gold Project

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