VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - Jan. 27, 2014) - Alto Ventures Ltd. (TSX VENTURE:ATV) is pleased to announce the Company has entered into an Option Agreement to acquire a 60% interest in four mining claims (the "GEFA Option") immediately adjacent to the southeast of North Arrow Minerals Pikoo diamond discovery in northern Saskatchewan. Alto's land holdings now total approximately 85,000 hectares through claim staking and the purchase/option of claims with favourable geology for diamonds (see Alto's news releases dated December 31, 2013 and January 22, 2014).
Rick Mazur, CEO and Director of Alto Ventures stated, "Initial sample results from Pikoo show a favourable size distribution and high diamond counts, including strong potential for commercial size diamonds. The quality of stones as shown on North Arrow's website suggests that this is a discovery of significance that opens up the northern Saskatchewan Craton as a new diamond district in Canada. We plan to aggressively explore our newly acquired, strategically located properties in this emerging diamond camp."
The four GEFA claims totaling 13,150 hectares are located approximately 160 km east of the Town of La Ronge, Saskatchewan and are contiguous to the Pikoo property within 10 km from the PK150 kimberlite. These claims occur along major regional structural trends that could be related to the emplacement of diamondiferous kimberlites in the northern Saskatchewan Craton, as interpreted by Alto's diamond consultant. The diamond potential of the northern Saskatchewan Craton in this area has been confirmed by North Arrow Minerals Inc. with the discovery in 2013 of several kimberlites that have returned high counts of diamonds exceeding 0.85 mm in size (see North Arrow Minerals news release dated November 5, 2013).
Under the terms of the GEFA Option Agreement, Alto can earn a 60% interest in the four claims by making staged cash payments to the vendors of $5,000 on signing (paid), $20,000 after year one and $35,000 after year two totaling $60,000 and completing $250,000 in exploration within one year and a further $500,000 within the following 18 months totaling $750,000 in exploration expenditures on the property over 30 months.
To view the figure associated with this press release, please visit the following link: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/ATV-012714-fig1.pdf
This news release has been reviewed and approved for technical content by Mike Koziol, P. Geo, a qualified person under the provisions of National Instrument 43-101.
About Alto Ventures Ltd.
Alto Ventures Ltd. is an exploration and development company with a portfolio of highly prospective Canadian gold and base metals properties. The Company is active in Quebec in the Abitibi greenstone belt on the Destiny gold property and in Ontario, exploring in the Beardmore-Geraldton gold belt. In Manitoba, the Company is focused on the gold and base metals potential of the highly prospective but relatively under-explored Oxford Lake property. Recently, the Company started to diversify its portfolio with the acquisition of large packages of land in Saskatchewan that are prospective for hosting diamonds.
For more details regarding the Company's projects, please visit our website at www.altoventures.com.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD,
Richard J. Mazur, P. Geo., CEO
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.