Alice Queen (ASX:AQX) has unveiled ‘full-scale potential’ at its Horn Island Gold Project in the Torres Strait, located 17km offshore from Cape York Peninsula.
The mineral explorer and developer recently estimated its exploration target and discovered a “large-scale” gold mineralised system.
The study reveals hard-rock vein-hosted gold zones, potential alluvial systems, and legacy mine-related stockpiles and tailings.
Multiple mineralisation zones have also been identified across the project, including what Alice Queen considers a “substantial target”.
The hard-rock exploration target is between 34.6 million tonnes (Mt) and 52Mt at a grade range of 0.88 grams per tonne of gold to 1.32g/t for 1.22–1.83 million ounces of gold.
The stockpile, tailing, and alluvial domains exploration target is between 25.1Mt and 37.6Mt at a grade range of 0.31g/t of gold to 0.46g/t for 310,000oz to 460,000oz of gold.
These targets exclude the previously reported mineral resource estimate.
“Numbers presented in this exploration target are consistent with our long-held view that the Horn Island gold field, while having been discovered over 120 years ago, is still yet to demonstrate its full-scale potential,” Alice Queen Managing Director Andrew Buxton says.
“The hard-rock component of the exploration target shows a significant potential uplift in ounces and grade, and the legacy stockpiles component shows significant ounces available in a very cost-attractive ‘already mined or at surface’ gold-endowed material.”
The estimate supports the company’s strategy to assess potential long-life mining operations. An updated mineral resource estimate and Scoping Study will evaluate potential for a mining restart and near-term development opportunities.
Alice Queen is a mineral exploration and development company with assets mainly in Australia and Fiji.
Write to Richard Szabo at Mining.com.au
Images: Alice Queen
