QX Resources is taking a new look at some old gold mines in Central Queensland and gearing up for a trenching program at its Big Red project.

The company said it had commissioned updated resource modelling for two shuttered open pit gold mines – Belyando and Lucky Break.

The mines were closed when gold was drawing less than $500/oz compared to recent Australian dollar prices well above the $3000 mark.

The Belyando site, 70km north-west of Clermont, (pictured at top of page) was mined from 1989 to 1993 within oxide and transition ore to about 60m depth.

It yielded 85,850oz gold, initially from CIP processing with recoveries running around the 72 per cent mark and later from heap leaching.

Lucky Break, 85km north-west of Clermont, was mined from 1987 to 1988 within oxide only to about 15m depth.

In that time it yielded 90,000 tonnes of ore at a diluted head grade of 2.4 g/t gold for about 6900oz gold.

Both mines show potential exists for down dip extensions to known gold mineralised zones and parallel features, as well as extensions along strike.

Meanwhile trenching is planned to extend high-grade gold results in trenches at the Disney-Big Red project

Previous results from hard rock at the base of trenches at Big Red were:

• 9m at 5.9 g/t gold within a mineralised zone 35m wide. Large zone 80m at1.2 g/t gold
• 3m at 2.2 g/t gold within a mineralised zone 13m wide. Large zone 28m at 1.8 g/t gold
• 2m at 23 g/t gold with a mineralised zone 7m wide. Large zone 32m at 1.7 g/t gold

Revised drill targets will be generated from the trenching results, merged with geophysical data.

“QXR has excellent potential for a gold discovery at Big Red in Queensland, which will be followed-up in the planned trenching program and followed later by a drill program, previously delayed due to inclement weather,” QX Resources managing director Stephen Promnitz said.

“Nearby closed open pit gold mines were operating at much lower gold prices and show potential for future production as part of a reassessment of their potential.”

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