Coldstream

Geology

• Archean age Shebandowan Greenstone Belt, including felsic to mafic volcanic units, felsic to mafic intrusive and meta-sedimentary rocks
• Alteration of deformed rocks includes quartz, carbonate, albite, sericite, chlorite, pyrite, magnetite, hematite and rare earth minerals
• Gold occurs in altered zones as inclusions in pyrite and chalcopyrite as well as in microfractures in pyrite and quartz veinlets

History

Prospecting in the Coldstream area dates back to 1870's when copper and gold were first discovered. The Coldstream Copper Mine was in production from 1959 to 1967 and operated by Noranda Inc. The mine produced in excess of 102 million pounds of copper, 22,000 ounces of gold and 440,000 ounces of silver from 2.7 million tons of ore.

Besides production from the Coldstream Copper Mine, the property hosts significant undeveloped gold mineralization. The East Coldstream Gold Deposit was discovered in 1988 by Noranda who subsequently drilled 6,138 m in 38 holes. Drilling intersected wide zones of gold mineralization that include 66.0 m averaging 1.06 g/t gold and 36.0 m averaging 1.87 g/t gold. Higher grades were also obtained within the wide zones including 37.7 g/t gold across 1.0 m, 22.6 g/t gold across 1.3 m, 8.1 g/t gold across 3.0 m and 15.7 g/t gold across 1.0 m. Noranda estimated a preliminary resource of 5.1 million tonnes at an average grade of 1.4 g/t gold. This resource estimate is historical and was not completed to NI43-101 standards.

Kinross Gold drilled 1,668 m in seven holes on the East Coldstream Gold Deposit in 2002. The Kinross drilling intersected wide zones of gold mineralization averaging from 1.0 to 1.5 g/t gold. Higher grades from the Kinross drilling include 15.2 g/t gold across 2.0 m, 12.8 g/t gold across 1.0 m, and 6.2 g/t gold across 1.0 m.

In 2005 Alto completed Induced Polarization and Chargeability surveys over the east end of the property including the East Coldstream Gold Deposit. The survey detected 19 anomalies thought to be associated with sulphides. Some of these anomalies are coincident with surface gold occurrences that were discovered in the past but not drilled.

Alto drilled 2,062 m in 13 holes in 2006 at the East Coldstream Gold Deposit. The drilling intersected wide zones of alteration and mineralization, up to 68 m averaging 1.21 g/t gold. Higher grades were also intersected within the wide zones including 4.27 g/t gold across 8.0 m, 12.2 g/t gold across 1.0 m, and 2.9 g/t gold across 12.0 m. These wide mineralized intersections confirm the potential for large tonnage deposits on the property.

It was also recognized then that the extensive alteration which includes quartz, carbonate, albite, sericite, chlorite, pyrite, magnetite, hematite, and rare earth minerals has many similarities to the giant Iron-Oxide-Copper-Gold (IOCG) deposits being explored in other parts of the world including Brazil and Australia. Gold occurs as inclusions in pyrite and chalcopyrite and along microfractures in pyrite and quartz veinlets.

Near the southwest end of the property, drilling by INCO Ltd in the early to mid 1980's intersected wide zones of gold mineralization, including 0.95 g/t gold across 34 m, 0.32 g/t gold across 55 m and 1.05 g/t gold across 19 m, in a geological setting similar to the East Coldstream Gold Deposit. The QES Zone of the 51 million tonnes (1.5 million ounces) Moss Lake Gold Deposit lies adjacent to the southwest boundary of Alto's Coldstream Property and the wide gold zones identified by INCO can be interpreted to lie along strike of this deposit.

Prospecting and geological mapping programs were carried out in 2008 and 2009. The main objectives of the programs were to gain a better understanding of the geology, alteration, and structural controls on mineralization to better define existing gold zones and generate new high quality drill targets. Initial work focused on the Span Lake, East Coldstream, and other areas of historical gold occurrences including the Goldie Lake zone. Significant gold results worthy of drill follow-up were obtained from the summer programs.