Altus Strategies Plc (AIM: ALS, TSX-V: ALTS, OTCQX: ALTUF) announces the results of preliminary metallurgical testwork undertaken on composite samples of fresh rock collected from core drilling at the FT Prospect of its Tabakorole gold project ('Tabakorole' or the 'Project') located in southern Mali.

Exploration activities at Tabakorole are being funded by Marvel Gold Limited (ASX: MVL) ('Marvel') under its joint venture ('JV') with Altus.

Highlights

Initial metallurgical testwork on fresh rock samples completed at Tabakorole, southern Mali

Bottle roll tests on core samples from Diamond Drilling ('DD') at the FT Prospect indicate: A straightforward clean and non-refractory ore with low reagent consumption

Tabakorole Metallurgical Testwork

A total of four composite samples were collected from four diamond drillholes completed by Marvel in mid-2020. The composites were made from the coarse split of diamond drilling samples based on the drillhole locations within the Tabakorole deposit and the head grade assay of the original samples. The composites targeted the current MRE grade of 1.2 g/t Au and ranged from 1.1 to 1.9 g/t Au. All samples were taken in fresh rock as this material represents approximately 90% of the Tabakorole MRE. Initial bottle roll testing is the industry standard first-step to determine gold recoveries from cyanide leaching.

Sample head analysis included duplicate gold assays along with a 26 element Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry ('ICP') scan. Composites were crushed to produce three size fractions (75-microm, 106-microm and 150-microm) before subjecting the samples to cyanide leaching with sampling undertaken at 12, 24 and 48 hours. Cyanide levels and pH were controlled, and consumption measured.

Results from the bottle roll testing show high recoveries from all samples, with low cyanide and lime consumption. Average leach recoveries were 92.7%, 94.8% and 96.6% for the four samples at the three grind sizes. The high recoveries indicate that the gold is likely to be recoverable via a simple carbon-in-leach process flow sheet, with no indications of refractory gold.

Sampling at 12, 24 and 48 hours indicate the leach kinetics are fast, with an average of over 90% recovery achieved in 12 hours at the finer grind. Future metallurgical testing is expected to look at comminution testwork and reagent concentrations with the aim of optimising the extraction process to aid in future plant design.

Multi-element assaying of the four samples returned generally low levels of deleterious elements including organic carbon, arsenic, cadmium, mercury and lead. Importantly there was no apparent correlation between arsenic content and gold recovery, indicating that the two phases most likely represent distinct mineralising events.

Tabakorole Resource Expansion Drill Program

The Company announced the MRE on the Tabakorole deposit on 30 September 2020 in its news release entitled 'Substantial Increase in Gold Resource at Tabakorole Project, Southern Mali'.

The ongoing RC drilling programme at Tabakorole undertaken by Marvel as part of the JV stage 3 earn-in, is expected to be complete by the end of January. The programme is designed to increase the existing resource by extending gold mineralisation along strike in both directions (to the north-west and the south-east). There are also a number of holes within the existing 2.9km strike length of the FT Prospect which are designed to increase resource confidence or further delineate the interpreted high-grade plunging shoots within the orebody.

High resolution ground magnetics followed by AC drilling (including an intersection of 6m at 6.3 g/t Au) undertaken by Marvel as part of the JV stage-1 earn-in at Tabakorole confirmed that gold mineralisation continues for at least 600m to the north-west along strike of the 2.9km long FT Prospect. The south-eastern extension is sparsely drilled and covered by low resolution magnetics. Marvel has collected high resolution ground magnetics over this area and plans to complete 8 RC holes to test the possible extension to the south-east. The deposit also remains open at depth, with 43% of the ounces in the MRE located within approximately 100m of surface.

Summary of Joint Venture with Marvel Gold

Marvel has the right to earn up to an 80% interest in Tabakorole by sole funding four stages of exploration, culminating in a definitive feasibility study, and by making certain cash (or cash plus Marvel shares) payments to Altus. Thereafter, Altus has the right to co-fund or dilute its 20% interest in the Project. Altus will retain a 2.5% NSR royalty on the Project and Marvel will have the right to reduce the NSR to 1.0% for a payment to Altus of between US$9.99M and US$15.00M (subject to the size of the resource at Tabakorole).

Tabakorole Project: Location

The 100km2 Tabakorole gold project is located in southern Mali, approximately 280km south of the capital city of Bamako. The Project sits on the Massagui Belt which hosts the Morila gold mine (operated by Firefinch Limited, ASX: FFX), located approximately 100km to the north. The Project is 125km southeast of the Yanfolila gold mine (operated by Hummingbird Resources Plc, AIM: HUM) and 100km east of the Kalana gold project (operated by Endeavour Mining Corporation, TSX: EDV). Mineralisation hosted on these properties is not necessarily indicative of mineralisation hosted at Tabakorole.

Tabakorole Project: Geology

Tabakorole comprises a 2.9km long shear zone which is up to 200m wide, hosted in the Archaean and Birimian aged Bougouni Basin of the Man Shield of southern Mali. The geology is dominated by clastic sediments, cut by northwest trending deformation zones which host gold mineralisation. At least two, possibly three, Eburnean deformation events are believed to have affected the geology of Tabakorole. The Project hosts the FT Prospect comprised of mylonites, sheared diorite, gabbro, mafic dykes and late stage felsic dykes, within a folded and deformed metasedimentary package of meta-siltstone, meta-wacke and meta-sandstone. Mineralisation is locally most favourably associated where structures cut gabbro and along lithological contacts with gabbro.

Contact:

Tel: +44 (0) 1235 511 767

About Altus Strategies Plc

Altus Strategies (AIM: ALS, TSX-V: ALTS & OTCQX: ALTUF) is a mining royalty company generating a diversified and precious metal focused portfolio of assets. The Company's focus on Africa and differentiated approach, of generating royalties on its own discoveries as well as through financings and acquisitions with third parties, has attracted key institutional investor backing. The Company engages constructively with all stakeholders, working diligently to minimise its environmental impact and to promote positive economic and social outcomes in the communities where it operates.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Certain information included in this announcement, including information relating to future financial or operating performance and other statements that express the expectations of the Directors or estimates of future performance constitute 'forward-looking statements'. These statements address future events and conditions and, as such, involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the statements. Such factors include, without limitation, the completion of planned expenditures, the ability to complete exploration programmes on schedule and the success of exploration programmes. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking information, which speak only as of the date of this announcement and the forward-looking statements contained in this announcement are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement.

Where the Company expresses or implies an expectation or belief as to future events or results, such expectation or belief is based on assumptions made in good faith and believed to have a reasonable basis. The forward-looking statements contained in this announcement are made as at the date hereof and the Company assumes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking information or any forward-looking statements contained in any other announcements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required under applicable law or regulations.

Market Abuse Regulation Disclosure

Certain information contained in this announcement would have been deemed inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of Regulation (EU) No 596/2014 ('MAR') until the release of this announcement.

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