Key Highlights

•  The first 11 holes of a 20-hole stage one RC programme returned intervals including 15m at 10.30g/t gold from 30m, including 1m at 68.0g/t.

•  Six holes tested inside the existing resource, and step-out drilling indicates mineralisation beyond the boundary over a strike of roughly 50m to 550m, open to the northwest.

•  Horn Island hosts a resource of 21.1 million tonnes at 0.84g/t gold, and no timetable for a revised estimate or stage two programme was given.

Alice Queen (ASX:AQX) has released the first assays from a reverse circulation (RC) drilling programme at its Horn Island Gold Project in Queensland's Torres Strait, with the strongest results coming from shallow depths around historic workings. The results relate to the first 11 holes of a 20-hole stage one programme.

The best interval reported was 15m at 10.30g/t gold from 30m, including 1m at 68.0g/t gold. Other intervals inside the existing resource area included 14m at 5.90g/t gold from 32m and a broad 83m at 1.20g/t gold from 73m. The announcement does not identify which hole returned each interval, nor does it state whether widths are downhole or true widths, so true widths should be regarded as unknown.

Drilling inside and beyond the resource

Six of the reported holes were drilled within the existing mineral resource estimate area, targeting the historic Pioneer Lode and West Pit. These holes were designed to improve geological understanding of zones already included in the resource rather than to establish new mineralisation.

Step-out drilling tested the broader exploration target. Of 14 holes in that category, five returned results reported, including 3m at 2.70g/t gold from 48m and 4m at 1.40g/t gold from 54m. These grades are considerably lower than the best intercepts inside the resource.

Mineralisation extends beyond the resource boundary across a strike length of roughly 50m to 550m and remains open to the northwest. The company identified shallow intercepts beneath the West Pit and deeper, higher-grade intervals within the Pioneer Lode as priority areas for follow-up.

Resource and exploration target

Horn Island currently hosts a mineral resource of 21.1 million tonnes at 0.84g/t gold. The resource category split and contained ounces were not stated. The company also has an exploration target for the broader area. An exploration target is conceptual in nature; it is not a mineral resource, and further work may not lead to a resource being defined.

Exploration Manager Adrian Hell described the initial step-out results as "very encouraging". He said that "multiple mineralised zones have been intersected, including some relatively near surface".

Why it matters

High-grade intervals near surface can matter for any future open-pit scenario, because shallow ore generally requires less waste removal. The 15m at 10.30g/t interval is well above the resource's average grade of 0.84g/t, which suggests higher-grade zones exist within a lower-grade envelope.

Even so, the results should be read with care. Many intervals come from areas already in the resource, so they may refine rather than add tonnes. The step-out grades are modest, and only part of the programme has been assayed. Alice Queen has not disclosed any economic study linked to the drilling, and the relationship between these intercepts and the existing resource model has yet to be tested.

Company background

Alice Queen describes itself as an explorer focused on gold, copper and critical mineral deposits, with Horn Island a key gold project. The island is home to historic gold mining, and the current work is aimed at improving understanding of gold trends within and around the known deposit.

Next steps

The company said the full dataset will be added to its geological model after quality assurance and quality control (QA/QC) checks, with the aim of updating the exploration target estimate. Assays from the remaining nine holes are expected within four to six weeks. Results from those holes, together with the QA/QC review, will help indicate whether the step-out mineralisation northwest of the resource has enough continuity to justify further drilling.

No timetable for a revised mineral resource estimate, or a stage two programme, was given.