Alice Queen steps up exploration in Molong Volcanic Belt within premier porphyry gold-copper province

Alice Queen Ltd (ASX:AQX) has started drilling Boda East target as it steps up exploration in the Molong Volcanic Belt of Central West NSW which is within the Lachlan Fold Belt, Australia's premier porphyry gold-copper province. A first phase deep diamond drill program at Boda East in AQX's Yariundury tenement will comprise three holes for 2,100 metres targeting a 13-kilometre trend. Boda East is around 700 metres east of Alkane Resources Limited’s (ASX:ALK) (OTCMKTS:ALKEF) Boda porphyry gold-copper discovery hole described by Alice Queen’s managing director Andrew Buxton as one of the biggest discoveries in NSW in the last 20 years. Target generation has been completed by chief technical advisor John Holliday, who is the co-discoverer of Newcrest Mining Limited’s (ASX:NCM) Cadia-Ridgeway deposits to the south of the Alice Queen and Alkane ground. Start of campaign work In the June quarterly report, the company said the holes would be the start of campaign work in the area and would help inform a future more comprehensive work program in the Boda East target area. Following the recent success by Alkane Resources Ltd (ASX:ALK) with its discovery at Boda within the Northern Molong Belt, Alice Queen continues to ramp up exploration activities across its Northern Molong projects, which include the Yarindury and Boda East assets. The company remains in a strong financial position with around $3 million in cash at June 30, 2020. Yarindury project Alice Queen expects to release the assay results and petrography shortly after the completion of drilling in August. During the quarter at Woodlands' target, hole 20YDDH008 was drilled to 312.6 metres with encouraging alteration and mineralisation at the very bottom of the hole and the company intends to follow this up. An angled, southwest directed hole140 metres to the south-southeast of 20YDDH008 is planned to test across the magnetic strike of the anomaly. At the Forest View anomaly, drill hole 19YDDH006 was drilled to 414.6 metres to test the basement anomaly, however, it did not reach the target anomaly. Alice Queen plans to extend the hole by a further 200 metres to investigate the source of the basement. Horn Island gold resource At Horn Island, St Barbara Limited (ASX:SBM) continues to earn into the project, through a 2019 joint venture agreement, via exploration for large-scale gold mineralisation. Alice Queen is also managing a parallel process to progress the Horn Island pit resource in the JV excluded zones towards indicated resource status. The company said St Barbara had confirmed its financial year 2021 work program, with up to $2 million expenditure to focus on drill testing two high-priority targets near the existing Horn Island resource. These two main targets, Tatooine and Naboo, will be the primary focus of a staged diamond drill program of up to 14 holes up to 4,500 metres. Regional exploration will include an airborne geophysical survey, satellite hyperspectral analysis and subject to access, field mapping and surface sampling. Mendooran project Also in Central West NSW at the Mendooran project, during the quarter ministerial consent for access to the Goonoo Goonoo State Conservation Area was received, paving the way for exploration drilling in that area for the first time ever. AQX also received written confirmation from the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service, that the Review of Environmental Factors (REF) for the Goonoo Goonoo State Conservation Area had been positively determined. It said eight large-scale copper-gold targets of the Molong Volcanic Belt remained untested within the boundary of the conservation area and the company is moving forward to finalise access.