Ann: Mining Begins at Agate Creek Gold Project, page-53

Hi all, as a casual observer of this chat group for 4 years I'm pleased to see you all "exuberant" of recent developments. The other day Northern Star Resources in WA were boasting how it took them less than two years to start mining gold from date of discovery. Well, we do things differently in Queensland, right?

For those who may have missed it, the Agate Creek story started millions of years ago in a geological sense. More recently in 1993 the Queensland Government released some land for mineral exploration access after a large area had been set aside for the agate fossicking fraternity in previous years. CRA Exploration (now RIO) pegged a tenement named "Cave Creek EPM 9632" in October 1993 and set about sampling the stream sediment at stream junctions using helicopter-assisted transport within the tenement region, testing later the 5+ kilogram bagged samples taken from each site for gold and other metals. Anything over an arbitrary cut-off of 1 part-per-billion (ppb) of gold was followed up.

The next field season (1995 dry season) saw the follow up by helicopter, 4WD and on foot of a 2ppb gold anomaly in the main Agate Creek, a few kilometres downstream of the Agate Creek fossicking reserve. Looking more closely some rare pebbles in the stream looked to have the textures in quartz fragments that are associated with gold deposits called epithermal. Walking and watching the side gullies and side drainage channels into the main creek channel led to observation of quartz vein loose rocks coming off a large hill that later assayed 7 parts per million (ppm).

A month or so later the crew returned and walked the ridges, and the erratic quartz veining with "juicy" looking textures was discovered. The rest is history. Drilling in 1996 and 1997 confirmed the gold find. RIO determined it was too small and it was sold to the next company, Homestake if I recall. Some of the discovery crew were retrenched..including this humble correspondent....the thanks you get for finding $billions in bullion! Will await the invitation to the official mine opening from Laneway in the snail mail (....not). By the way the Queensland Government QDEX mining reporting system has not released those early reports on exploration as they are confidential. You will only find "Relinquishment" reports on the ground released that CRA tested that didn't have any gold. At least these tell of the methodology. One day......

Finally, do yourselves a favour and take your mates, your partner and/or your kids up to the Agate Creek fossicking reserve for a camping holiday, and look to the northwest and see a plume of dust rising, and hear the sounds of the reversing sirens on the dump trucks (beep...beep...beep, or better still earn....earn....earn....). Know that your Laneway shares are working hard to assist in the lifestyle you aspire to. Call into the Goldfields Hotel in Forsayth on your way in and out to sooth the dry throat.

Cheers,

Reggie