Laneway Resources (ASX:LNY) has made a significant discovery at its Agate Creek project in Queensland that could be game changing and signify the start of a new chapter for the junior gold explorer.
Agate Creek has historically been considered an epithermal deposit but a new study undertaken by Laneway reveals it could in actual fact be a Kidston-style intrusion-related gold system (IRGS).
The former producing Kidston mine in northern Queensland was once Australia’s largest open cut gold mine, averaging production of 200,000-300,000oz of gold each year.
To give you an indication of the potential size of these deposits, one of the largest IRGS deposits globally is the undeveloped Donlin Creek deposit in the prolific Tintina Gold Belt in Alaska, which hosts +30Moz of gold.
Northeast Queensland is host to several large IRGS deposits, including Kidston which is located about 60km east of Laneway’s Agate Creek project.
Agate Creek hosts the fourth largest mineral endowment in the Georgetown region behind Kidston (5Moz), Woolgar Mesozonal (1.1Moz) and Woolgar Epithermal (0.7Moz).
The ME 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 Intrusive Related Gold System (IRGS).
Managing Director, Brad Gordon, said findings from this study will assist in developing targets for upcoming drill programmes.
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,” Mr 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.
“What had historically been considered an epithermal deposit at Sherwood is now looking increasingly like an IRGS system. Such deposits are generally recognized to offer larger scale potential and are characterized 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.
“Whilst we have other assets in our portfolio, Laneway is firmly focused on gold production.
“However, the study has yielded a wealth of drill targets to confirm the IRGS hypothesis which we intend 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 SE of Agate Creek a particularly tantalising prospect.”
