Australia based gold & Coal miner and explorer Laneway Resources Limited (ASX: LNY) has announced an encouraging update on gold production for the Sherwood deposit within its 100% owned Agate Creek Gold Project in Queensland, Australia.
Laneway said that over 13,000 tonnes of ore have been mined, of which over 11,000 tonnes having now been processed. The first gold pour occurred on 22 April from mining of high-grade ore.
The company reported that 2,220 ounces of gold was recovered by the end of April at the Black Jack Plant from 5,012 tonnes of Agate Creek ore with a reconciled grade of 13.91 g/t gold. Refined gold sold by the end of April totaled 57,821 g or 1,859 ounces.
The company said that mining is expected to continue for 10-12 weeks. Laneway reported that an initial 1,100 metre RC drilling program has commenced targeting additional high grade resources in the vicinity of the current mining operations.
Agate Creek Gold Project
The Agate Creek gold project in Australia is a high-grade gold mine being developed by Laneway Resources. It is located approximately 40km away from Forsayth in North Queensland.
The project includes two prospects, Sherwood and Sherwood West, which are located on the northwestern portion of a Permian caldera. The Company has brought the project into production quickly following the grant of a Mining Lease (ML100030) over the Sherwood deposit.
The Agate Creek gold project is estimated to contain JORC-compliant resources of 8.2 million tonnes (Mt) grading 1.4g/t, as of 2016. It is anticipated to contain 381,000oz of gold.
Partnership with Maroon Gold
Laneway had entered into Mining and Processing Agreement with Maroon Gold Pty Ltd (Maroon) which allows toll treatment of up to 100,000 t of the high-grade ore through Maroon’s Gold Processing Plant, Black Jack Gold Processing Plant at Charters Towers.
13,000 Tonnes Mined
Laneway reported that the mining, transportation and processing of ore is continuing in line with expectations with over 13,000 tonnes of ore mined of which over 11,000 tonnes having now been processed through Maroon Gold’s Black Jack Plant.
First Gold Pour
The company said that it achieved the first gold pour within 10 weeks of the Lease being granted. The first ore blast occurred on 10 April. The first ore was transported on 13th April after which it was fed into the crushing circuit of Maroon’s Black Jack Gold Processing Plant at Charters Towers on 17 April. The first gold was poured on 22 April.
Gold Recovery for April
The company reported that overall gold recovery for April has totalled 2,220 ounces from ≈ 5,012 t of material with a reconciled grade of 13.91 g/t.
Laneway said that the processing plant recovery has averaged 99% with over 65% of the gold produced via Gravity / ILR (Intensive Leach Reactor) methods with the balance recovered by CIL (Carbon in Leach).
Laneway reported that the CIL processing of Agate Creek Ore has a current rate of 20tph and is expected to continue for another 14-16 weeks. This rate is scheduled to be steadily increased over the coming weeks with 25 tonnes per hour being targeted.
Refined gold sold by the end of April totaled 57,821 g or 1,859 Oz of 99.999 gold.
Mining to Continue
The company said that the stripping ratios were around 6:1 during April. Currently, mining is ongoing at site and is scheduled to continue for another 10-12 weeks, with ore transportation to Maroon Gold’s Plant at Charters Towers expected to continue for 2 weeks following the end of mining.
Higher Cash Flow
Laneway said that it is anticipating to achieve material positive cash flow from the mining activities at the Agate Creek high grade project due to the recent high prices for AUD denominated gold. The cash flow is expected to establish a sound financial platform for the company to progress its project portfolio.
The company said that the primary focus would be on planned resource expansion at Agate Creek after which it plans to progress the Ashford Coking Coal project and its NZ Gold assets.
What’s Next?
Laneway said that it has started an initial 1,100 metre Reverse Circulation (RC) drilling program around the vicinity of the current mining operations to expand the current mineralisation and explore further potential high-grade zones.