New high-grade assays indicate potential for Laneway Resources to extend Agate Creek gold operation

Brisbane-based miner Laneway Resources (ASX: LNY) has reported high-grade results from a 42-hole drilling program at its Agate Creek gold project in northern Queensland.

The 2244 metre program targeted additional high-grade material at the Sherwood prospect near the existing open cut pit, and included first pass drilling at the Sherwood West and other regional targets.

Gold intercepts were encountered in some of the 17 holes drilled at Sherwood, confirming an extension of the high-grade zone at depth and highlighting the potential for further mining in the short term.

Best results included 7m at 13.9g/t gold, 2m at 24.6g/t gold and 2m at 53.0g/t gold.

Laneway said it would use the results to investigate the potential for a small cut back over the current pit area to allow for the high-grade mineralisation to be accessed from deeper mining of the current pit floor.

The cut back would also allow for extensions into the walls on both sides of the pit and into the northern high wall area with initial analysis indicating potential for additional tonnes to be mined in the near term.

“Drilling was [designed] to investigate how far these zones extend and to allow calculations of potential economics and strip ratios required for a possible cut back being undertaken of the recently mined area,” the company said.

“Assay results from Sherwood have only been just been received due to processing delays at the laboratory, and as such have still to be fully assessed and modelled.”

Production from Agate Creek commenced earlier this year, with first gold pour achieved in April.

Resource estimate

Laneway said it would commence work on an updated JORC resource estimate incorporating the new drilling results.

The update will take into account metal removed by recent mining, new information from reverse circulation grade control drilling programs completed in the past 12 months, and the “significant additional geological understanding” gained during mining.

Full analysis of the potential for additional high-grade mining will be carried out following the completion of the resource estimate calculations, which will then allow for detailed pit designs including determining waste tonnes required to be stripped to access additional high-grade material.

Pulp library

Laneway said it intends to utilise a significant historical pulp library stored onsite by undertaking detailed litho-geo-chemical and alteration geo-chemical multi-element analysis along with alteration zonation deposit modelling.

The information collected will be incorporated into existing geological models to generate more comprehensive three-dimensional fluid pathway modelling which could potentially expand the project’s current gold inventory.

“This information should allow for more accurate targeting of the main mineralised zones at depth within the Sherwood, Sherwood West and potentially also the Nottingham prospects,” the company said.

“Results from this [modelling] will drive further larger drilling programs.”

At midday, shares in Laneway Resources were up 16.67% to $0.007.