PERTH (miningweekly.com) – ASX-listed Laneway Resources has started refurbishment activities at the Georgetown gold processing plant, in North Queensland.

Laneway in February entered into a share sale agreement to purchase Masterson Minerals, owner of the Georgetown gold processing plant and an extensive portfolio of mining and exploration tenements.

Laneway has now entered into a deed of variation to the share sale agreement extending the date for satisfaction of various conditions precedent to May 20 and the completion date to  May 31.

“We are pleased to be underway with the refurbishment and restart works at the Georgetown plant which, once complete, will enable us to take control of our processing and development future and provide a clear pathway for Laneway to execute on its significant growth pipeline,” said MD Brad Gordon.

Site works and electrical and mechanical refurbishment programs at the processing plant at have started as part of the estimated A$2.5-million refurbishment and restart works program being undertaken by Laneway to allow the start of ore processing through the plant in the coming months.

The plant was previously fully refurbished in 2010 and has only been used briefly since then including for the processing of a metallurgical sample for Laneway in early 2014 which achieved good gold recoveries.

In addition to the processing plant refurbishment works, re-establishment of associated site infrastructure including water, tailings, offices, maintenance stores, workshops and communications are underway and advancing well. It is currently anticipated the refurbishment and restart program to enable processing of ore will take around 12 weeks to complete at which time high grade ore from Agate Creek, which was pre-stripped during 2021, will be mined ready to be processed.

The next phase of drilling and blasting at Agate Creek is expected to start during mid-May with earthmovers to mobilise soon after.