Key Highlights

  • Maiden underground diamond drilling at the historical Emilia Mine returned individual zinc assays of up to 25.70%.
  • The standout intercept is 5.00 metres at 13.66% zinc and 0.04% lead in hole EDDT001.
  • Emilia lies about 2.3 km northeast of San José and is entirely outside the company's Mineral Resource Estimate.
  • LME cash zinc traded at approximately US$3,955 per tonne at the end of October 2026.

Altoro Metals Limited (ASX:ARO) has reported high-grade zinc results from its maiden modern underground diamond drilling campaign at the Emilia Mine, part of the Novales Project in Cantabria, northern Spain, in an announcement dated 4 November 2026. Nine holes totalling 285.5 metres were drilled at the historical mine.

High-Grade Intercepts

Hole EDDT001 returned 5.00 metres at 13.66% zinc and 0.04% lead, including a one-metre interval grading 25.70% zinc. Other intercepts include 4.00 metres at 6.01% zinc and 0.31% lead in EDDT006, 5.49 metres at 5.69% zinc in EDDT009 and 11.00 metres at 2.79% zinc in EDDT008.

Individual peak assays also include 18.90% zinc in EDDT005, 17.10% zinc in EDDT006 and 15.40% zinc in EDDT007. A separate lower interval of 3.00 metres at 3.29% zinc and 2.15% lead was reported in EDDT008.

The intercepts vary in width and grade, with the company reporting both short high-grade intervals and longer lower-grade ones. The standout result comes from a one-metre sub-interval within a 5-metre zone, so the figures should be read as individual intersections rather than averages for the whole mine.

Location and Resource Position

Emilia is located about 2.3 kilometres northeast of San José, within what the company interprets as a 12-kilometre zinc trend known as the Novales–Udías trend. The company states that the drilled area sits entirely outside its existing Mineral Resource Estimate.

The results are therefore reported as extensions of the known mineralised system rather than as resource upgrades. The company will need to define the continuity of these intervals before any resource change can be considered.

The Novales–Udías trend is described as 12 kilometres long, and the Emilia results are presented as part of the work to define mineralisation along that structure. Because Emilia lies outside the current estimate, the new drilling adds to the known geological picture rather than updating the resource.

Zinc Market Backdrop

The release notes that LME cash zinc traded at approximately US$3,955 per tonne at the end of October 2026. It also refers to an industry forecast pointing to a global refined zinc Deficit in 2026.

These figures are market references included in the announcement and are not company forecasts. The company links them to the context for its drilling program.

Zinc market references are included to explain the context for the program. The company does not link its own forecasts to those market figures in the release, and the price reference is stated as at the end of October 2026.

Drilling Program Overview

The program comprised nine underground diamond holes, drilled into the historical Emilia Mine. Holes are identified by code, and the release lists the intervals for the main holes, which allows the grades to be traced to specific drilling. The company describes the program as its first modern underground drilling at the site, which means the results add to a historical dataset without a continuous modern record. Further drilling will be needed to test continuity between the intersections.

Final Word

The results show high-grade zinc in historical workings, but individual assays and short intervals do not establish the continuity or scale of a deposit. The reported intercepts sit outside the current resource, so the next phase of drilling and modelling will determine how far the mineralisation extends. Zinc prices referenced in the release can change, and they do not form part of the company's own estimates.