Agate Creek study unlocks large-scale gold potential

Laneway Resources believes it is beginning 'a new chapter' at Agate Creek after a study pointing to Kidston-style Intrusion Related Gold System (IRGS) potential. The 12-month multi-element study at Agate Creek had unlocked the geological model of the region, the company said. Planning is well advanced for a multi-stage drill program to confirm interpreted IRGS potential in the area. "We are very excited by the results of the multi-element study, which has been a year in the making with input from some of the best independent geological experts in the country," Laneway managing director Brad Gordon said. "Without exaggeration it has transformed our understanding of the geology at Agate Creek and the scale potential of our ground in the region. Laneway Resources managing director Brad Gordon. "What had historically been considered an epithermal deposit at Sherwood is now looking increasingly like an IRGS system. "Such deposits are generally recognised to offer larger scale potential and are characterised by multi-million ounce endowments. "Whilst we already have a JORC Mineral Resource of close to half a million ounces at Agate Creek we might just be on the cusp of something much larger. "In our opinion we are likely at the beginning of a new chapter in the history of Laneway Resources with a new geological model underpinning our thinking." Laneway Resources is currently undertaking a 12-week mining campaign at its Agate Creek gold mine, with Advance Civil Earthworks as contractor. The campaign is targeting a high-grade parcel of 35,000t of ore from the high-grade Sherwood pit, expected to yield about 5,500 ounces of gold. Related: Alice River shaping up for Pacgold In the longer term, Laneway is continuing to appraise and evaluate the broader mineralisation potential at Agate Creek and progress the development of large-scale activities including on-site processing. The 12-month multi-element study study involved two parallel investigations, Metal Zonation Analysis and an Elemental/Alteration Geochemical Analysis of the mineralisation styles observed within the Agate Creek project. Both investigations concluded the Agate Creek Deposit had indicators with similarities to an IRGS. Laneway said rhyolites at Agate Creek had magmatic characteristics with strongly reduced and highly fractionated chemistry, similar to the magmatic chemistry observed for intrusions at documented IRGS deposits such as Kidston (5moz), Woolgar (2moz), and Mount Wright (1.5moz). All pulp samples stored on site at Agate Creek from historical drilling completed by seven companies including Laneway dating back to 1993 were utilised in this study. Mr Gordon said the study had yielded a wealth of drill targets to confirm the IRGS hypothesis, which Laneway intended to follow up straight away, starting with ‘along strike’ and deeper extensions to the known Sherwood high-grade mineralisation in the rhyolites. "Drilling will continue into 2022 with the large gravity low south-esat of Agate Creek a particularly tantalising prospect," he said. Location of Agate Creek project and known IRGS deposits.

Agate Creek study unlocks large-scale gold potential

Industry Queensland

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