Vancouver, B.C., April 12, 2006. Alto Ventures Ltd. (ATV: TSX-V) and Commander Resources Ltd. (CMD: TSX-V) are pleased to announce results from four further holes recently completed at the Despinassy Gold Project near Val d'Or, Quebec. Alto's drilling continues to demonstrate the continuity of the mineralization and potential for new zones of gold mineralization. The drill returned to the DAC deposit after discovery of the new Darla Zone (see news release dated March 29, 2006), one kilometre (km) to the east, where 19.5 g/t gold over 2.1 m was intersected.
Highlights include:
- Drill hole DES06-93 extended the West Lens of the DAC Deposit 30 m further down plunge, intersecting Zone 2 with a grade of 5.2 g/t gold over 3.0 m (including 9.9 g/t over 1.0 m) and Zone 5 with a drill intercept of 10.9 g/t over 1.0 m.
- DES06-94, DES06-95 and DES06-96 were drilled to test the East Lens of Zone 2 where previous drill holes intersected grades of 9.1 g/t over 1.4 m, 6.8 g/t over 1.2 m and 7.2 g/t over 2.4 m. Results from these three infill holes confirm the continuity of the East Lens.
Results are summarized as follows:
DDH From To Width Assay Zone
(m) (m) (m) (g/t Au)
DES06-93 168.0 170.0 2.0 3.5 Zone 1
228.3 231.3 3.0 5.2 Zone 2
includes
229.3 230.3 1.0 9.9
326.6 327.6 1.0 10.9 Zone 5
DES06-94 177.8 180.8 3.0 1.8 Zone 2
DES06-95 132.2 134.2 2.0 3.1 Zone 2
DES06-96 254.4 259.9 5.5 2.7 Zone 2
includes
254.4 256.4 2.0 3.7
and
258.4 259.4 1.0 4.6
272.7 275.7 3.0 2.9 Zone 3
273.7 275.7 2.0 3.5
309.7 310.7 1.0 7.8 Zone 4
Due to the angles of intersection of the zones by the drill holes, the approximate true thickness of the mineralized veins is estimated to range from 80% to 90% of reported down-hole intercepts. For results in previous holes see news releases dated February 27, March 20 and March 29, 2006.
A map indicating drill hole locations on the DAC deposit may be found on the Company website at: http://www.altoventures.com/i/maps/Vein2bapr_10.jpg
Three additional drill holes (DES06-97, DES06-98 and DES06-99) have been completed, bringing the total 2006 drilling to 4,343 metres in 16 drill holes, the results of which are pending. Another three holes (DES06-100, DES06-101 and DES06-102) will be drilled at the DAC Deposit aimed towards building an initial inferred resource to the 300 m level in this strong gold mineralized system.
Quality Assurance/Quality Control
Core processing included descriptive logging and selection of samples for analyses. The cores selected for analyses were sawed in half and one half was delivered to a commercial laboratory and the other half retained for future reference. Gold assays were performed at ALS Chemex Laboratories in Val d'Or, Quebec. The gold assaying method uses a standard Fire Assay with AA or Gravimetric finish technique, as requested by the Company, on a 30 gram sub-sample taken from a 250 gram split of the sample submitted. Sieve metallic assays are performed as required.
The laboratory was instructed to prepare and analyze a second 250 gram split from the reject for those samples that indicated greater than 2 g/t Au on the initial analysis. The results reported represent composites using weighted averages of all analyses performed on each specific sample. Commercially prepared standards were inserted every 25 samples to ensure precision of the results.
The Despinassy Gold Project is a joint venture between Alto Ventures Ltd. (70%), as operator and Commander Resources Ltd. (30%). Robert J. Tremblay P.Geo (Quebec) is supervising the drill program. Mike Koziol, P.Geo, P.Eng Alto's Vice President, Exploration is the Company's Qualified Person.
About Alto Ventures Ltd.
Alto Ventures Ltd. is a gold exploration and development company with a portfolio of nine properties in the Canadian Shield. The Company is focused on projects located within the Abitibi Greenstone Belt in Ontario and Quebec as well as in historic gold producing districts. Alto's strength is firmly founded upon the broad capabilities of its management team, which is highly accomplished in the realms of property acquisition, project financing, exploration and mine development. For further information visit our website at www.altoventures.com or contact Investor Relations at (604) 681-2409.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD
Richard Mazur, P.Geo.
President & CEO
The TSX Venture Exchange does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
