Vancouver, B.C., June 25, 2008. Alto Ventures Ltd. (ATV: TSX-V) is pleased to announce that a $300,000 exploration program and budget have been approved by Joint Venture partners Alto Ventures and Wescan Goldfields Inc. (WGF: TSX-V) for the Mud Lake property in the Beardmore-Geraldton Gold Belt. The program includes airborne high-resolution magnetometer and XDS/VLF electromagnetic surveys as well as surface work consisting of prospecting, mechanical stripping and sampling. The geophysical work was completed last week with the survey report pending. The surface work will commence in early July, followed by diamond drilling scheduled to start in late September.
The property lies adjacent to Kodiak Exploration Ltd's ("Kodiak") Hercules Project and hosts the Mud Lake Shear (MLS), a major gold-bearing shear zone that extends for over six kilometres along strike. Several gold occurrences have been exposed in surface trenches along the MLS and sampling of these has returned gold assays as high as 50 grams per tonne (g/t) in grab samples. Drilling in 2007 and 2008 tested six of the surface occurrences and intersected gold at each one, up to 13.9 g/t gold/1.0 metre; another seven surface gold occurrences remain to be drilled.
The 2008 work will focus on identifying extensions to the known gold zones as well as locating new zones for drill testing. This program is part of a longer term strategy to evaluate each of the surface gold zones with diamond drilling as well as to delineate in greater detail those zones that display continuity of mineralization and show potential for developing into an economic deposit.
Under the terms of the Mud Lake Option Agreement, Wescan can earn 50% interest in the property by funding $600,000 in exploration and issuing a total of 150,000 Wescan shares to Alto over two years. Upon completion of the work, Wescan will have satisfied the work expenditures commitments to earn its interest in the project.
The prolific Beardmore-Geraldton Gold Belt has produced over four million ounces of gold in the past with grades comparable to the Red Lake mining camp in north western Ontario. Alto has commenced exploration work on four other projects in the area including the Cote-Archie Lake property where project operator, Kodiak, has started drilling (see Alto news release dated May 28, 2008). Kodiak is working towards earning 51% interest in the Cote-Archie Lake project by incurring $1 million in exploration expenditures over three years.
For more details regarding the Company's Beardmore area projects, please visit our website at www.altoventure.com
Mike Koziol, P. Geo., P.Eng. and Alto's President, CEO and Director is the Qualified Person who has reviewed and approved the content of this news release.
About Alto Ventures Ltd
Alto Ventures Ltd. is a gold exploration and development company with a portfolio of highly prospective properties in the Canadian Shield. With a pipeline of quality projects, the Company's approach to maximizing opportunities while minimizing exploration risk is to attract well financed partners with the technical expertise to take projects on to feasibility and subsequently production.
Alto's Management and Board of Directors have a long and successful track record of creating shareholder value through systematic exploration, acquisitions and discovery. The Company is currently active in Quebec where it is focussed on the Despinassy project in the Abitibi Greenstone Belt and in Ontario in the Beardmore and Shebandowan gold districts.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD,
Mike Koziol, P. Geo., P. Eng.
President
The TSX Venture Exchange does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
For further information contact:
Mark Prosser
Investor Relations Manager
ALTO VENTURES LTD.
910-475 Howe Street
Vancouver, BC, V6C 2B3
Tel: 604-638-3947
Fax: 604-689-3609
Email: mark@altoventures.com
Website: www.altoventures.com
