Alice Queen Limited has developed a substantial Exploration Target at Horn Island, Queensland, and identified a high-grade gold zone extending over 5 km at its Viani project in Fiji, while completing a significant convertible note conversion and appointing a new director.
- Horn Island Exploration Target highlights large-scale gold potential
- High-grade epithermal gold zone extends over 5 km at Viani
- Convertible notes fully converted into shares, raising capital
- Appointment of experienced director Davide Bosio
- Updated Horn Island Scoping Study expected in first half 2026
Horn Island Exploration Target Signals Large-Scale Gold Opportunity
Alice Queen Limited (ASX:AQX) has taken a significant step forward with its Horn Island gold project in Queensland, completing an Exploration Target (ET) that suggests a potentially large-scale gold mineralised system. The ET encompasses multiple mineralisation domains, including hard rock vein-hosted zones, legacy stockpiles, tailings, and alluvial deposits, collectively underpinning the company's ambition for a long-life mining operation.
The ET estimate, released on 28 April 2026, excludes previously reported Mineral Resources but highlights shallow mineralisation close to historic open pits, offering a pathway to near-surface development. This work feeds into an updated Mineral Resource estimate and Scoping Study, with the latter expected to be completed in the first half of 2026 as Alice Queen refines key revenue and cost assumptions.
The company spent $236K on exploration and evaluation at Horn Island during the quarter, reflecting a focused investment in advancing the project’s development potential. The refreshed Scoping Study aims to assess the viability of a mining restart, an important milestone given the project's history and the recent surge in gold prices. This momentum builds on earlier efforts to reassess Horn Island’s value amid a dramatic gold price increase, which saw the price rise from around A$2,450 to approximately A$6,000 per ounce since 2021 reassesses Horn Island value.
Viani Project Reveals High-Grade Gold over 5 Kilometres
In Fiji, Alice Queen’s Viani project delivered promising results from low-cost trenching and sampling, identifying a high-grade low sulphidation epithermal (LSE) gold system extending over a 5 km strike that remains open along strike and at depth. Notable trench intercepts include 4 metres at 10.91 g/t gold and 2 metres at 13.69 g/t gold, with peak assays exceeding 26 g/t in individual metre samples.
The high-grade gold zone is associated with brecciated, silicified quartz veins and shows continuity over at least 250 metres in outcrop, consistent with previous drilling results that intersected high-grade gold to depths of 175 metres. This alignment between trenching and drilling assays underscores the potential for a substantial gold shoot within the primary structure, which remains largely untested at depth.
Additional trenching also exposed a secondary, lower-grade quartz vein system dipping steeply south, which has not been intersected in historical drilling, indicating further targets for follow-up exploration. The Tabua’s Camp prospect, where these trenches were dug, remains a priority for deep drill testing to define the extent and controls of mineralisation new high-grade gold zone.
Corporate Moves: Convertible Note Conversion and Board Appointment
On the corporate front, Alice Queen completed the conversion of all unsecured convertible notes into fully paid ordinary shares during the quarter, issuing 220 million shares at 0.5 cents each. This conversion raised $1.1 million, including interest, providing a capital boost ahead of the company’s planned development activities. Additionally, share placements in February raised over $790,000, including a $280,000 upsize from unrelated investors, supporting ongoing exploration and working capital needs $280K upsize placement.
The company also appointed Davide Bosio as a Non-Executive Director in March 2026. Bosio brings extensive experience in financial services and resources, having held board roles at gold producer Black Cat Syndicate and junior explorers Lord Resources and Yojee. His background in capital management and M&A is expected to strengthen Alice Queen’s strategic and financial capabilities as it advances its projects.
Limited Activity at Other Projects
Exploration activity at Alice Queen’s other projects in Fiji (Sabeto) and New South Wales (Mendooran and Yarindury) was minimal during the quarter, with tenements maintained in good standing but no field work conducted. Plans for drilling at these Lachlan Fold Belt prospects remain on hold due to funding constraints, reflecting a prioritisation of resources towards Horn Island and Viani.
Bottom Line?
Alice Queen’s progress at Horn Island and Viani lays groundwork for potential mining development, but the market will watch closely for the updated Scoping Study and deeper drilling results to validate the scale and grade of these targets.
Questions in the middle?
- Will the updated Horn Island Scoping Study confirm economic viability for a mining restart?
- How will deeper drilling at Viani refine the understanding of the high-grade gold shoot’s extent?
- What impact will the convertible note conversion have on share liquidity and investor appetite?