Gold and copper explorer, Alice Queen Limited, has commenced drilling ahead of schedule at the Horn Island Gold Project Joint Venture (JV) with its partner, St Barbara Limited. Horn Island is located approximately 17 kilometres off Queensland’s coast in the Torres Strait, just south of Papua New Guinea.
A maiden diamond core drill program (up to 14 holes for 4,500 metres) commenced at the Horn Island ahead of schedule on 27 September 2020.
Alice Queen’s Horn Island Resource extension drill program (6 holes for 1,440 metres) within the ‘Excluded Areas’ has now been completed and all core has been processed and dispatched for assay.
Phase one of the company’s Horn Island Resource Reverse Circulation (RC) infill drill program of 33 holes for 4,100 metres is currently being mobilised to commence shortly.
Alice Queen’s Managing Director, Andrew Buxton, said the company is very excited to have embarked upon its first diamond core drilling program with Horn Island joint venture partner, St Barbara Limited.
“The IP anomalies that we are targeting with the drilling are of a significant scale so we are all very optimistic about the potential of this program to expand on the already very exciting Horn Island story,” he said.
About the Horn Island St Barbara JV
On 5 June 2019, Alice Queen announced it had entered into a JV with ASX-listed gold producer and explorer, St Barbara Limited. An overview of certain key terms of the JV is set out below, and further details are contained in the company’s ASX announcement dated 5 June 2019.
- St Barbara to spend $4M over three years to earn 70 per cent of areas outside of the Excluded Zones
- Excluded Zones are the existing Inferred Resource (approx. 0.5Moz Au). The historic mine infrastructure which includes certain road areas and decant water dam, the historic waste dumps, low-grade ore stockpiles, ROM pad and all alluvial gold across Horn Island to a depth of 5 metres below surface (Figure 1).
- St Barbara has an option to purchase all or part of the Excluded Zones at “fair value” post it spending the $4M and electing to move to 70 per cent.