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Advanced gold and copper explorer, Alice Queen Limited (ASX:AQX) (Alice Queen or the Company), is pleased to advise that it has received notification from the Mineral Resources Department (MRD) of Fiji that its highly prospective low sulphidation epithermal (LSE) gold project, Viani (SPL1513) located on the Pacific Rim of Fire, on Fiji’s second biggest island Vanua Levu, has been renewed for a further three years, commencing on 3 July 2024.
Highlights
- MRD notified Alice Queen on Friday 19 July 2024 via email that its Viani license (SPL1513) has been renewed for a further three years with effect from Wednesday 3 July 2024.
- Viani, located on the Pacific Rim of Fire on Vanua Levu in Fiji, covers an area greater than 200km2 and is largely under explored (see Figures 1 and 2).
- The Dakuniba prospect within Viani has been previously sampled where epithermal gold mineralisation has been recorded in outcrop samples over a >3km strike length.
- Multiple epithermal veins within the Dakuniba prospect area, 5km by 1.5km surface gold-in- soil geochemical anomaly - the footprint of the epithermal mineralisation is comparable to other economically productive gold epithermal deposits globally.
- Previous drilling by Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in 1997 focused on a small, shallow part of the overall system and intersected high grade epithermal gold mineralisation.
- (Hole MJFV-5 (see Figure 3) over 6 vein zones at 50 to 100m below surface with best results, 0.6m @ 27.6 g/t Au & 900 g/t Ag and 0.4m @ 11.7 g/t Au1 and remains open in all directions.
- The JICA drilling was limited to only 600m of strike-length of the 5km long gold-in-soil anomaly (>10ppb Au) supported by epithermal geochemistry i.e., Ag and As.
- Based on discovery knowledge from epithermal systems worldwide, it is apparent the historical drilling was an inadequate test of the Viani gold system.
Alice Queen’s Managing Director, Andrew Buxton said,
We are delighted the SPL1513 license has been renewed for a further three years and look forward to continuing to work alongside the Fiji Mineral Resources Department as we commence our next phase of exploration activities. The Viani Gold Project is a tremendous prospect which has demonstrated it has the potential to become a significant epithermal system. With the license now renewed and the Company fully funded for its Fiji exploration plans, Alice Queen will continue the systematic exploration of the Viani Gold Project with the Company having commenced planning for its upcoming exploration programs.
Viani
Figure 1. Fiji Project locations.
Figure 2. Location of the Dakuniba Prospect in relation with SPL1513.
The Viani project (SPL1513) covers an area greater than 200km2 on the Caukadrove Peninsula on the Pacific Rim of Fire, Vanua Levu, Fiji. It is well serviced from Savu Savu on Vanua Levu and is highly prospective for a high-grade LSE gold system (see ASX releases 2 December 2022, “VIANI UPDATE” and 6 March 2023, “ALICE QUEEN UPGRADES VIANI EPITHERMAL PROJECT”.
Following a renewal process for Viani (SPL1513) which the Company commenced earlier this year (including as announced in the Quarterly Activities Report released to ASX on 23 April 2024), MRD notified Alice Queen on Friday 19 July 2024 that the license had been renewed with effect from Wednesday 3 July 2024 for a further three years. The renewed license includes typical terms for a license of this nature, including minimum work program and expenditure requirements.
Whilst the greater project area remains under explored, extensive sampling, trenching and (historic) limited drilling of the Dakuniba prospect area has been previously completed.
Previous drilling by JICA in 1997 returned multiple epithermal gold intersections in shallow drilling. Hole MJFV-5 (see Figure 2) intersected 6 vein zones at 50 to 100m below surface (best results include 0.6m @ 27.6ppm Au & 900ppm Ag, 0.4m @ 11.7ppm Au & 4.3ppm Ag)1. The JICA drilling was limited to only 600m of strike-length of the 5km long gold-in-soil anomaly (>10ppb Au) supported by epithermal geochemistry i.e., Ag and As.
Further details in relation to upcoming exploration plans at Viani will be announced in due course.
Click here for the full ASX Release
This article includes content from Alice Queen Limited, licensed for the purpose of publishing on Investing News Australia. This article does not constitute financial product advice. It is your responsibility to perform proper due diligence before acting upon any information provided here. Please refer to our full disclaimer here.
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Alice Queen
Investor Insight
Combining near-term discovery and development strategy, Alice Queen is positioned to unlock significant shareholder value through its high-impact gold projects in Fiji and Australia. Supported by strategic investors, it offers a rare blend of near-term exploration upside and longer-term development potential.
Overview
Alice Queen (ASX:AQX) is a gold exploration company targeting district-scale discoveries and near-term production opportunities. The company’s flagship project is the Viani gold project in Fiji, where early drilling results point to a major epithermal gold system similar to other epithermal gold systems hosted on the Pacific Ring of Fire with Fiji also hosting the 10 Moz Vatukoula gold mine. With a portfolio spanning the Pacific Ring of Fire and Australia's most prolific gold belts, Alice Queen combines geological potential with strategic capital access.
The company’s secondary asset, Horn Island, contains over half a million ounces of gold in a JORC-compliant resource. A previously released scoping study (2021) for Horn Island indicates an NPV of over AU$500 million, after an internal update on the numbers at AU$5,000/oz gold. Discussions with development partners are underway to unlock value from this asset, which could produce more than AU$800 million in free cash flow over a projected eight-year mine life.
Alice Queen’s shareholder registry is anchored by Gage Resource Development (51 percent) and includes significant long-term, and well-funded Australian investors. The company is pursuing a balanced strategy of value creation through drilling success, strategic partnerships and asset-level monetization.
Company Highlights
- High-impact Discovery at Viani in Fiji: Drilling at the Viani project has confirmed a significant low-sulphidation epithermal gold system with mineralization over a ~5 km strike, with assay results from recent drilling expected imminently.
- Established Gold Resource at Horn Island: The Horn Island project hosts a 524,000 oz JORC-compliant gold resource and is being advanced through potential development partnerships, offering near-term monetization opportunities.
- Strategic Financial Backing: Backed by major shareholder Gage Resource Development, a subsidiary of Beijing-based Gage Capital (US$1.6 billion AUM), ensuring access to growth capital and long-term support.
- Exceptional Leadership: Led by a highly experienced management team with a successful track record in global business and resource development.
Key Projects
Viani Project
The Viani gold project, located on Vanua Levu, Fiji’s second-largest island, is emerging as Alice Queen’s flagship exploration asset, with strong early indications of a large-scale, high-grade, low-sulphidation epithermal gold system. The project covers more than 200 sq km of underexplored ground within Fiji that hosts the Vatukoula gold mine, a +10 Moz deposit located on Fiji’s main island, Viti Levu. Viani’s main prospect, Dakuniba, has been the focus of extensive historical and current surface work, including trenching, rock chip sampling and limited historical drilling, which have collectively defined a mineralized corridor extending over ~5 km in strike length. Assay results from the maiden program have confirmed depth potential of high-grade gold to 175 m.
Gold mineralization is hosted in banded quartz veins and quartz-adularia stockworks associated with strong argillic and silicic alteration, indicative of a classic low-sulphidation system. Alice Queen has conducted detailed geochemical sampling and geophysical interpretation to delineate drill targets, with Phase 1 diamond drilling that commenced in December 2024. The current program comprises an initial three-hole diamond campaign (approximately 1,000 metres), targeting depth extensions of the mapped surface mineralization. The first hole, 24VDD001, intercepted zones of epithermal-style veining, with visible alteration and sulphide mineralization. The geophysical signature of the host rocks reveals zones of magnetite destruction associated with alteration, providing a critical exploration vector for further target generation. Over a dozen discrete structural targets have been identified within the broader 7 km hydrothermal corridor.
The company is exploring follow-up drilling and potential geophysical (ground mag) surveys as a way to identify where the structures that host the mineralisation broaden or dilate to refine these targets. The scale, alteration style and structural setting of the Viani system suggest the potential for a significant gold discovery, with parallels to other globally productive vein-hosted systems in the Pacific Rim.
Horn Island Project
Horn Island, located in the Torres Strait approximately 17 km off the northern coast of Queensland, is a development-stage project with an existing JORC 2012-compliant mineral resource estimate of 16.7 Mt at 0.98 g/t gold for 524,000 ounces of contained gold in the indicated and inferred categories. The project is classified as an intrusion-related gold system, characterized by sheeted vein systems, broad hydrothermal alteration, and disseminated gold mineralization associated with late-stage felsic intrusives.
The resource is centered on a historical open-pit gold mine and remains open to the northwest, with several additional prospects—including the Southern Silicified Ridge—identified within the project area. The mineralized zone is hosted in altered andesitic volcanics and quartz-feldspar porphyry intrusives, with gold associated with pyrite, arsenopyrite, and quartz-carbonate veining.
The project has full community backing, including a 7.5 percent free-carried interest held by the local Kaurareg Aboriginal People. It benefits from excellent infrastructure, including daily commercial flights, ferry access to nearby Thursday Island, and shipping links to Cairns and Weipa.
Alice Queen is currently engaged with several interested parties in partnership discussions about Horn Island via Argonaut PCF. The company is optimistic that a partnership deal can unlock significant shareholder value and reduce dilution.
Sabeto Project
The Sabeto Project is located within the Sabeto Valley on Fiji’s main island, Viti Levu, and sits within a 15 km east-west trending structural corridor that hosts both epithermal and porphyry-style mineralization. The project is situated between the historic Vuda gold prospect and Lion One’s (ASX:LLO) operating Tuvatu gold mine, which is hosted within the Nawainiu Intrusive Complex —the same intrusive suite that underlies the Sabeto project area. Sabeto is interpreted to host a sub-volcanic porphyry copper-gold breccia system, with historic drilling confirming broad zones of alteration and anomalous copper and gold values coincident with a ‘bullseye’ ZTEM resistivity high anomaly. This geophysical feature is interpreted as representing a buried intrusive centre, possibly related to porphyry-style mineralization.
The upcoming drill program at Sabeto is designed to test three priority targets, all defined by surface geochemistry, geophysical signatures and diatreme-style breccias. Proposed diamond hole A will test west of previous holes SBDD0001 and SBDD0004, targeting potential lateral continuity of the mineralized intrusive. Hole B aims to drill beneath an outcropping diatreme breccia with gold-copper anomalies, and under a significant gold soil anomaly 300 meters northwest of hole SBDD0003. Hole C will test the southern extent of a copper-anomalous diatreme breccia zone identified in mapping. The planned 1,800-meter program is expected to begin, following completion of the Viani Phase 1 campaign and will further test the scale and fertility of the porphyry system at Sabeto.
Boda East & Mendooran Projects
Located in the heart of the Lachlan Fold Belt (LFB), one of Australia's most fertile porphyry terranes, Alice Queen’s Boda East and Mendooran projects are early-stage copper-gold exploration assets. Boda East lies immediately adjacent to Alkane Resources’ (ASX:ALK) Boda and Kaiser deposits, which host large-scale porphyry-style copper-gold mineralization. Geological mapping and drilling at Boda East have confirmed the presence of porphyritic intrusives, hydrothermal breccias and disseminated sulphide mineralization, consistent with porphyry-related alteration. Eleven holes have been drilled to date, with several intersecting pathfinder elements and anomalous copper-gold grades. Further drilling is planned to vector toward the core of the system.
The Mendooran project, situated further south in the LFB, targets large porphyry copper-gold systems associated with the Molong Volcanic Belt. Historic drilling and surface sampling have identified alteration halos and geochemical anomalies typical of porphyry environments. These projects provide optionality and long-term upside exposure to bulk-tonnage copper-gold mineralization and may be attractive candidates for joint venture or strategic partnerships with larger players active in the region.
Management Team
Jianying Wang - Non-executive Chairman
Chairman of Beijing Gage Capital Management, Jianying Wang oversees US$1.6 billion in assets and brings extensive experience in global M&A and equity investment. He has supported Alice Queen through multiple funding rounds.
Andrew Buxton - Managing Director
Andrew Buxton is the founder of Alice Queen and former managing director of Kidman Resources, He brings over 25 years of experience in capital markets and resource company management, and leads the company’s exploration and development strategy.
Dale McCabe - Executive Director
A co-founder of Alice Queen, Dale McCabe has managed operational rollouts and exploration execution since 2015. For more than two decades, he worked in the IT sector and brings broad project coordination experience.
Paul Williams – Non-executive Director
Currently managing director of ASX-listed AuKing Limited (ASX:AKN), Paul Williams is an experienced mining and resources executive with over 30 years of experience across multiple commodities and multiple jurisdictions.
Exploring the Pacific Rim: High-grade epithermal gold and near-term production potential
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