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Impact Minerals Limited’s (ASX:IPT) is pleased to announce that it has lodged a Mining Lease Application (MLA63/684) and associated Miscellaneous Licence (L63/99) for the Lake Hope High Purity Alumina (HPA) Project located 500 km east of Perth in Western Australia, (Figures 1 and 2). This is a crucial step in advancing the project towards production as it defines the work required to obtain the statutory approvals needed for the grant of the Mining Lease.
- Mining Lease Application (MLA 63/684) lodged over the West Lake resource.
- Miscellaneous Licence (L63/99) lodged to cover mine infrastructure and haulage road.
- A clear pathway to the grant of the mining lease has been established with two main focus areas going forward:
- oA negotiation protocol for Land Access and Cultural Heritage agreements with the Ngadju peoples which is under review; and
- oFurther seasonal flora and fauna surveys.
- Mining studies are underway as part of the Pre-Feasibility Study to provide mining schedules, proposed equipment, site logistics and costs of mining and transport of ore to Kwinana.
The approvals process, together with the logistics and estimated costs of mining and transporting the Lake Hope mud to the process plant, form one of the four key parts of a Pre-Feasibility Study (PFS) on Lake Hope, which is in progress (Figure 3 and ASX Release July 10th, 2024). Impact can take an 80% interest in Playa One Pty Limited, which owns the Lake Hope Project and associated intellectual property, by completing the PFS (ASX Releases March 21st 2023 and July 10th 2024).
The PFS followed on from a positive Scoping Study, which showed that for a benchmark production of 10,000 tonnes per annum of HPA, the Project has an estimated post-tax Net Present Value (NPV8) of about A$1.3 billion and would potentially be one of the lowest-cost producers of HPA globally (ASX Release November 9th 2023).
All material assumptions underpinning the production target and the forecast financial information derived from it in the Scoping Study continue to apply and have not materially changed within the +/-30% parameters (ASX November 9th, 2023).
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This article includes content from Impact Minerals, 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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Impact Minerals Limited
Overview
Impact Minerals (ASX:IPT) is an exploration and development mining company focused on discovering and developing new resource projects within Australia. Lake Hope, a recent transformational acquisition by the company and its current flagship asset, is a high-purity alumina (HPA) project in Impact’s home territory of Western Australia, a tier-one jurisdiction.
This advanced-stage project allows the company to fast-track the asset toward development, firmly establishing the company on the road to production and increasing shareholder value.
HPA is a high-value product with various uses in several industries that are key to the transition to a low-carbon world. Its main uses are in LED lighting, micro-LED screens, and ceramic-coated separators in lithium-ion batteries. Both these markets are forecast to grow dramatically over the next decade, and a looming supply shortage is predicted for 2026.
HPA is also necessary for producing synthetic sapphire and scratch-resistant glass. With these ever-widening applications for HPA, demand for this resource is expected to grow from US$3.18 billion to US$12.21 billion by 2030 with a compounded annual growth rate of about 20 percent.
Lake Hope is the company’s current focus as it moves towards production, and where a very shallow, high-grade resource of HPA precursor material has been identified in the top two meters of a dry salt lake. The deposit has unique physical and chemical properties that will allow for inexpensive digging and mining, with transportation to a processing facility off-site in an established industrial area. This will accelerate the approvals processes required to get into production.
Impact is currently focused on lodging a mining lease application. The company aims to bring Lake Hope, which contains almost 1 million tons of potential HPA, into production when the forecast average price for 4N HPA (99.99 percent AL203) and related products is about US$20,000 per ton. The ‘4N’ designation indicates the purity grade, making it suitable for high-tech end uses.
Outstanding economics from the latest scoping study released by the company shows Lake Hope’s potential to be the lowest-cost producer of HPA globally by up to 50 percent.
In June 2023, Impact announced a maiden mineral resource estimate (MRE) of 3.5 million tons at 25.1 percent alumina (Al2O3) for a contained 880,000 tons of alumina. The company also received heritage clearances for the entire Lake Hope deposit further de-risking the project and providing another critical component in the company’s application for a mining lease.
Impact completed a bulk sampling and test pits program at the Lake Hope project in December 2023. The company recently announced a key milestone having produced HPA greater than 99.99 percent (4N) purity from the metallurgical processing of lake clays acquired from Lake Hope.
In February 2024, a new proprietary metallurgical process for producing HPA from the lake clays was identified. Impact produced 99.99 percent (4N) Al2O3 from a low-temperature leach (LTL) process. The LTL process may lower the capital and operating costs to produce HPA compared to the sulphate process which underpinned the recent scoping study. The LTL process will be included in the ongoing pre-feasibility study in parallel with the sulphate process at marginal extra cost to determine the best processing route to HPA. The PFS is due to be completed on schedule in late 2024.
A comparison of the LTL process and the sulphate process
The company received a significant research and development refund of $753,000 from its exploration activities completed in the financial year ending June 30th, 2022. The company is well funded to finance the pre-feasibility study at the Lake Hope High Purity Alumina project and exploration activities at the Arkun battery minerals project.
Impact Minerals was also one of the inaugural cohort of seven companies selected to be part of the prestigious BHP Xplor program. BHP Xplor, an accelerator program introduced by BHP in August 2022, is designed to help provide participants with the opportunity to accelerate their growth and the potential to establish a long-term partnership with BHP and its global network of partners.
The BHP Xplor funding was used to identify new target areas for copper and other energy metals around the Broken Hill area in New South Wales, eastern Australia, where Impact has been quietly adding to its ground position for several years.
Additionally, the company is exploring its large Arkun battery metals project, also in Western Australia which covers nearly 2,900 square kilometres. Three new exploration licence applications were submitted recently immediately north of the Arkun project along trend from the recently discovered REE soil geochemistry anomalies at Hyperion, Swordfish and Horseshoe, and the Caligula copper anomaly. These anomalies require drill testing which will occur in 2024 and is an exciting development in the emerging mineral province of southwest WA.
A strong management team with over 50 years of combined industry experience leads the company. With a mining and exploration geology degree, Dr. Mike Jones, managing director, launched a long career consulting and leading mining organizations. Peter Unsworth, the non-executive chairman, has more than 35 years of experience in multiple financial sectors, such as securities industries and wealth management. Paul Ingram, a non-executive director, has led several mining companies since 2003. Impact Minerals has the experience and expertise to lead the company to success.
Company Highlights
- Impact Minerals is an exploration and development mining company focused on rapidly moving its flagship Lake Hope high-purity alumina (HPA) project towards production.
- Lake Hope project has a high-grade maiden mineral resource estimate (MRE) of 3.5 million tonnes at 25.1 percent alumina (Al2O3), for a contained 880,000 tonnes of alumina that can be converted to HPA.
- HPA is used throughout multiple industries, and the overall HPA market is projected to grow by a CAGR of 18.4 percent by 2030.
- A pre-feasibility study is currently in progress, and Impact plans to lodge a mining lease application by Q3 2024 after results of its scoping study indicated that Lake Hope could potentially be one of, if not the lowest-cost producer of HPA globally, possibly by a significant margin of up to 50 percent.
- The company’s project portfolio also includes assets with high-grade mineral deposits of a range of base, critical and precious metals.
- Impact Mineral’s 2,000-square-mile Arkun nickel-copper-PGE project in Western Australia has produced encouraging assays motivating further exploration with maiden drill programmes planned for 2024.
- The company is also exploring its Broken Hill copper project in New South Wales under the auspices of the BHP Xplor program.
- A strong management team leads the company with experience in geology, mining and corporate finance.
Key Projects
Lake Hope HPA Project
Impact Minerals’ Lake Hope HPA project is in Western Australia, a tier-one mining jurisdiction. HPA is a crucial component in many new and emerging technologies, creating ongoing demand for high-grade sources. The Lake Hope project has become the company’s flagship as it moves toward production.
Project Highlights:
- Maiden Mineral Resource Estimate: A maiden mineral resource of 3.5 million tonnes at 25.1 percent alumina (Al2O3) for a contained 880,000 tonnes of alumina has been defined at the Lake Hope HPA Project. About 88 percent of the resource, or 775,000 tonnes of alumina, is in the higher confidence indicated resource category.
- Amenable to Open-pit Mining: The Lake Hope project is a unique HPA asset amenable to shallow, open-pit mining. The deposit is soft and shallow, allowing for cheap digging and minimal infrastructure requirements. This type of deposit also lowers the environmental footprint of the operation.
- Fast-tracked to Production: The company is currently awaiting its Mining Lease Application. Once granted, the company will begin working towards a pre-feasibility study and mini pilot plant. Impact Minerals plans to reach a complete pilot plant by 2026.
- Impressive Results of the 2023 Scoping Study: Outstanding economics show Lake Hope to potentially be the lowest-cost producer of High Purity Alumina (HPA) globally by up to 50 percent. Key outcomes from the scoping study include:
- Annual production of 10,000 tpa of 4N HPA with an initial 25-year mine life
- Annual EBITDA of A$174 million.
- 2 years construction period with 5,000 tonnes of production during the first year, 8,000 tonnes in the second year and 10,000 tonnes of production thereafter.
- US$934 million post-tax NPV8 at an IRR of 55 percent.
The scoping study was underpinned by a sulphuric acid process allowing the company to achieve a new milestone by producing HPA with purity of more than than 99.99 percent (4N) from the metallurgical processing of lake clays acquired from Lake Hope. The company further identified a new proprietary metallurgical process for producing HPA from the lake clays. Known as the low-temperature leach (LTL) process, this also produced 99.99 percent (4N) Al2O3 and has the potential to lower even further the capital and operating costs to produce HPA compared to the sulphate process. The LTL process will be included in the ongoing pre-feasibility study along with the sulphate process to determine the best processing route to HPA. The PFS is due to be completed in late 2024.
Broken Hill Copper Project
The Broken Hill project has a significant land position of 815 square kilometers and hosts multiple targets with the potential for high-grade copper. Broken Hill is located in New South Wales, Australia, an area known for its prolific silver-lead-zinc mining operations and the giant Broken Hill deposit.
Project Highlights:
- Participant in the BHP Xplor Program: Impact was selected for the BHP Xplor program based on its Broken Hill project. The program is designed to allow participants to accelerate growth and establish a long-term partnership with BHP.
- Potential for Additional Minerals and Deposits: As well as copper, the project has significant exploration potential for magmatic nickel-copper-PGE sulphides, and at the time the host rocks were formed, Broken Hill was located close to the world-class nickel-copper-PGE deposit of Jinchuan and the significant Lengquisheng deposit. The project area also has the potential to contain zinc-lead-silver deposits, providing even more value.
Arkun Nickel-Copper-Gold-Lithium-REE Project
The Arkun project is a 2,900-square-kilometer nickel, copper and gold project located in the emerging Ni-Cu-PGE province near the world-class Julimar Ni-Cu-PGE deposit and surrounded by Anglo American Corporation, which secured its ground holding shortly after Impact secured its asset. Anglo-American is one of the world’s top ten mining companies, and their presence in the region brings confidence in the project’s potential.
Project Highlights:
- Additional Exploration Underway: Impact plans follow-up work programs, including drilling, at its priority targets.
- Significant Targets Identified: Recent soil sampling identified two new prospects:
- Hyperion prospect - Located in the northwestern part of the project area returned with rare earth element anomalism of up to 5,880 ppm (0.59 percent) total rare earth oxide (TREO+Y) and neodymium and praseodymium (Nd+Pr) of up to 21 percent.
- Caligula prospect - Initially identified on the roadside, the Caligula prospect is a large and significant target for porphyry copper mineralisation.
- Three New Exploration Licences: Impact applied for three new exploration licences expanding Arkun project along trend from the recently discovered REE soil geochemistry anomalies at Hyperion, Swordfish and Horseshoe as well as the Caligula copper anomaly.
Management Team
Peter Unsworth - Non-executive Chairman
Peter Unsworth, formerly a chartered accountant, has over 35 years of experience in the corporate finance, investment and securities industries and a wealth of management experience with public and private companies. A former executive director with a leading Western Australian stockbroking company, Unsworth has been a director of several public exploration and mining companies. He recently completed a long time serving as chairman of the Western Australian Government-owned Gold Corporation (operator of The Perth Mint). Unsworth is the founding chairman of Impact Minerals.
Dr. Mike Jones - Managing Director
Dr. Mike Jones is the founding managing director of Impact Minerals Limited, which was listed on the Australian Stock Exchange in November 2006. Reporting to the board of directors, he is responsible for the company's performance as it moves towards production at its Lake Hope High Purity Alumina Project and also for implementing strategies to explore and maximize the value of the company's other extensive tenement holdings.
Since listing, he has helped raise more than $60 million to help fund the exploration of Impact’s projects and managed the company through significant adverse events, including the global financial crisis and the Fukushima nuclear disaster, which affected Impact’s considerable investment in the uranium sector, a five-year global downturn in the mining sector and more recently, the COVID-19 pandemic.
Paul Ingram - Non-executive Director
Paul Ingram is a geologist with extensive experience managing major mineral exploration programs for several publicly listed companies and has been involved in the mining sector for over thirty years. He has designed and implemented innovative techniques for exploration in remote areas and has managed projects in countries throughout Australia and East Asia. Ingram has been a director of the following listed companies in the past three years: Polo Resources from January 2008 to January 2011; A-Cap Resources since June 2009; Consolidated Global Investments since September 2006; Caledon Resources from February 2003 to March 2008; and Australian Pacific Coal since March 2011.
Dr Frank Bierlein - Non-executive Director
Dr. Frank Bierlein is a geologist with 30 years of experience as a consultant, researcher, lecturer and industry professional. Bierlein has held exploration and generative geology management positions with QMSD Mining, Qatar Mining, Afmeco Australia and Areva NC, and consulted for, among others, Newmont Gold, Resolute Mining, Goldfields International, Freeport McMoRan, and the International Atomic Energy Agency. He is currently a non-executive director of PNX Metals. He was previously a non-executive director of Gold Australia NL and chaired the advisory board of a Luxembourg-based private equity fund between 2014 and 2021.
Nightflower Exploration Target Upgrade Following Antimony Price Increase
Highlights:
- Nightflower project is a high grade silver deposit with historically impressive intersections from past drilling including 9 m @ 506g/t Silver (>16 oz/t), 12.6% Lead, and 1.46% Zinc.1
- An Exploration Target range reported on 6 June 2022 has now been substantially upgraded to 2.75 Mt @ 364 g/t Ag Eq for 32 Moz Ag Eq to 5.36 Mt @ 270 g/t Ag Eq for 47 Moz Ag Eq. The Exploration Target is conceptual in nature only and there is no guarantee that further exploration will define a resource.
- Antimony has contributed to the Exploration Target, however, recent significant increases in the Antimony price due to China's export restrictions have improved the project’s economics.
- Historical drilling results indicate Antimony grades up 3.05m @ 9.0% Sb, 24.0% Pb, 10.5% Zn, 14.9 oz/t Ag, and 0.38% Cu (Hole NF72DD11), although the Exploration Target is based on a 1% Sb grade.
- Drilling is now being planned to test the target and upgrade previously identified mineralisation to JORC 2012 reporting standards.
In mid-August China, the world’s largest producer of Antimony – producing 83,000t in 2023 (USGS) - accounting for 48% of the world’s supply, will be restricting Antimony exports from 21 September 2024. Consequently, the Antimony price has significantly increased and is currently trading at US$24,500/tonne (Argus Metals, Antimony ingot min 99.65% fob China).
The revised Exploration Target is summarised in Figure 1, incorporating the original tonnages from the 6 June 2022 announcement with revisions to the grade range, detailed later in this report.
Figure 1. Revised Exploration Target. Note: The Exploration Target is conceptual in nature only and there is no guarantee that further exploration will define a resource.
The estimated Antimony content range within the Exploration Target is summarized in Figure 2 below.
Figure 2. Revised Exploration Target with an estimated contained Antimony range. Note: The Exploration Target is conceptual in nature only and there is no guarantee that further exploration will define a resource.
Tartana Minerals Managing Director, Stephen Bartrop, commented:
“Significant increases in our Exploration Target, Antimony prices, and consequently the economics of the project underpins the importance of the Nightflower project. With production at the Tartana mine site reaching steady state, this opportunity is only more significant. Further this represents only one target (The Digger Lode mineralisation) and excludes the prospectivity of the adjacent Terrace lode and a possible further discovery.”
Nightflower Silver Project History
The Nightflower project is located 40 km north of Chillagoe in Far North Queensland. It covers a substantial part of the northern Featherbed Volcanic Group and the underlying and surrounding Hodgkinson Formation.
It was discovered as a high grade silver deposit in 1923 and was visited by the Queensland Premier in October 1923. On the Premier’s return to Brisbane he reported that the ore at Nightflower was very rich and a truck-load treated at Chillagoe gave about 30% of lead and 40 ounces of silver to the ton (Source: Qld Govt Mining Journal Vol XXIV, Oct 1923).
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This article includes content from Tartana Minerals 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.
Grande Portage Resources: Advancing the High-grade Herbert Gold Project in Alaska
Grande Portage Resources (TSXV:GPG;OTCQB:GPTRF);OTCQB:GPTRF) is a publicly held junior resource company exclusively focused on exploring and developing gold assets in southeast Alaska. The company is advancing its 100 percent owned Herbert Gold project, situated approximately 25 km north of Juneau, Alaska, within the historic Juneau Gold Belt, which has produced over 7 million ounces of gold.
The Herbert Gold project has an updated mineral resource estimate of 1.44 million ounces at 9.47 g/pt gold indicated resource, and 515,700 ounces at 8.85 g/pt gold inferred resource.
Herbert Gold ProjectThe Herbert Gold project is an exploration stage, high-grade, mesothermal quartz vein system in the historic Juneau Gold Belt of southeast Alaska. Herbert consists of 91 unpatented lode claims located 25 km north of Juneau and to the south of Coeur Alaska's profitable Kensington gold mine. The property covers six parallel vein structures exposed at surface.
Grande Portage released an updated MRE on the project (2024) for 1.44 Moz (4.7 Mt at 9.5 g/t gold) and 0.5 Moz (1.8 Mt at 8.9 g/t gold) in the indicated and Inferred categories, respectively. The Herbert property remains open at depth and along strike. Overall, six or more promising gold-producing vein-fault structures that contain ribbon structures and quartz-sulfides are located on the property. Herbert Gold is one of Alaska's most promising districts and has remained remarkably underexplored.
Company Highlights
- Grande Portage Resources is a junior resource company advancing its high-grade Herbert Gold project, located in a prolific gold belt in Alaska.
- Strong management team led by Ian Klassen who has 20 years’ experience in business management, public relations and government affairs.
- The company’s flagship Herbert Gold project, located near Juneau, Alaska, boasts a resource of 1.44 million ounces at 9.47 g/pt gold, and inferred resource of 515,700 ounces at 8.85 g/pt gold.
This Grande Portage Resources profile is part of a paid investor education campaign.*
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Aurum Hits 40m at 1.03 g/t Gold at Boundiali BD Target 1
Highlights
- Step-back diamond drilling (14 holes for 4,485m) at BD Target 1 on the Boundiali BD tenement returns shallow, wide gold hits1 including:
- 40m @ 1.03 g/t Au from 136m inc. 5m @ 1.70 g/t Au (DSDD0076)
- 11m @ 2.15 g/t Au from 169m inc. 4m @ 4.14 g/t Au &
- 10m @ 2.02 g/t Au from 322m inc. 2m @ 9.18 g/t Au (DSDD0062)
- Gold mineralisation remains open at BD Target 1; along strike and down dip with mineralisation intersected down to 385m below surface
- Induced Polarisation (IP) survey (2.8km by 4.5km) completed at BD Target 1 to optimise drill targeting
- Actively drilling at BD Target 2 and Boundiali BM tenement; assay results expected soon
- Aurum is now utilising a second assay lab to improve assay turnaround time
- Two more diamond rigs (capable of drilling 900m downhole) have arrived, increasing Aurum’s fleet to six; drilling rate to reach ~10,000m per month (targeting 45,000m for CY2024)
- Initial Mineral Resource Estimate for Boundiali targeted for late CY2024
- Aurum is well-funded (~$20M) for continued aggressive exploration.
Aurum’s Managing Director Dr. Caigen Wang said: “We're delighted with another shallow, wide gold intercept at BD Target 1. Gold mineralisation remains open along strike and at depth, with intersects as deep as 385m below surface. Every hole we drill helps us understand the controls on the high-grade gold shoots we find within these wider intercepts.
The new IP survey and structural data are guiding our drill targeting. With two new NOCK1300 diamond drill rigs operational, we're eager to test BD Target 1 down to approximately 900m.
With six rigs on site, we expect to achieve ~10,000m drilling per month, systematically exploring the full potential of the 13km by 3km target zone at BD and our other tenements within the Boundiali gold project. We're also improving our operations with new vehicles, a centralised camp, and we are using a second laboratory to enhance efficiency and assay turnaround times.
We're well-funded with ~$20 million cash at bank, allowing us to accelerate drilling and build on these encouraging results. We're targeting an inaugural JORC resource for Boundiali by late 2024.”
BD Target 1 - Latest Drill Results
Assay results reported in this release include 14 holes (4,485m) drilled at BD Target 1, which remains open with further drilling planned. More significant assay results for these holes2 include:
- 40m @ 1.03 g/t Au from 136m inc. 5m @ 1.70 g/t Au (DSDD0076)
- 11m @ 2.15 g/t Au from 169m inc. 4m @ 4.14 g/t Au &
- 10m @ 2.02 g/t Au from 322m inc. 2m @ 9.18 g/t Au (DSDD0062)
These new results are in addition to diamond holes drilled by Aurum at BD Target 1 and reported previously on 1 March 2024, 12 March 2024, 10 May 2024, 28 May 2024 and 17 June 2024, which include multiple +50 gold gram meter intervals over a 300m strike and down to an average depth of 200m (Table 1).
Table 1: Significant Intersections BD Target 1 over 300m strike
These shallow wide high-grade gold intercepts are predominately from the hanging wall lodes at BD target 1 and true widths are estimated at about 70% - 80% of reported downhole lengths.
Details of drill collar location and assay results for the new drilling on BD Target 1 are in Table 2 and Table 3 respectively. Plans showing Boundiali Gold Project location including assay results are presented in (Figure 1 to Figure 3). A cross section showing the latest drill results is presented in Figure 4.
Gold mineralisation remains open along strike and at depth on all prospects, with drilling ongoing and further work being planned. Aurum has prioritized a number of IP defined targets to define additional high priority targets for drill testing within the 2.8km by 4.5km IP surveyed area but sitting outside of currently drilled gold prospects.
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This article includes content from Aurum Resources 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.
+95% Gold and Antimony Recoveries at Auld Creek
Highlights
- Three metallurgical samples from Auld Creek were tested for gold and antimony recoveries at ALS in Perth.
- All three samples gave excellent gold flotation recoveries ranging from 95-98%.
- Antimony recoveries are modest (around 64-90%) using copper sulphate as an activator.
- Changing from copper sulphate to lead nitrate as an activator boosted antimony recovery from 71% to 97%.
- The rougher concentrate grade for the lead nitrate test was 44.8g/t Au and 13.2% Sb. Cleaning tests are expected to enhance these grades further.
- Additional optimisation work using lead nitrate as an activator is expected to commence in Q4 of CY2024.
Siren Managing Director and CEO, Victor Rajasooriar commented:
” These are excellent results as we progress our Reefton gold and antimony projects into the future. The commodity pricing outlooks for both metals are excellent and the introduction of antimony as a critical mineral brings additional potential benefits to New Zealand. We are now in the final stages of completing our Auld Creek mineral resource calculations following the drilling program earlier this year and expect to have that completed in the coming weeks. Concurrently, additional metallurgical testwork will be carried out to optimise the recoveries of antimony at Auld Creek.”
Background
Three metallurgical samples were collected from Auld Creek diamond core within the Fraternal Shoot to test for both gold and antimony recoveries into a flotation concentrate. The samples were delivered to ALS Perth in May 2024 for a range of metallurgical tests under the supervision of metallurgist Graham Brock (Leo Consulting Ltd).
AC001 was collected from the top of the shoot that has little or no antimony. AC002 was collected from the middle of the shoot with high grade gold and antimony and AC003 was collected to represent the average resource gold and antimony grades (Table 1 and Figure 1).
Table 1. Auld Creek Metallurgical samples
Figure 1. Long section showing the location of the metallurgical samples (white circles).
AC001 Flotation Tests
Three tests were conducted on the low-grade antimony sample AC001. Test 1 was a standard kinetic rougher test giving a 95.8% recovery of the gold into the rougher concentrate at a grade of 51.2 g/t Au. Antimony recovery was also high, but the head grade was low at 0.05%.
Tests 2 and 3 were kinetic cleaner tests; Test 2 had no regrind and Test 3 included a regrind step. Test 2 produced a high-grade concentrate assaying 120.6g/t Au and Test 3 produced a grade of 136.6g/t Au. Gold recoveries were 91.9% in Test 2 and 87.7% in Test 3.
In summary, if this material was fed to a flotation concentrator 6% by weight would go to a 51g/t Au concentrate at 95.8% gold recovery. To reduce transport costs a cleaner circuit could be introduced such that for a small loss of recovery only 2.6% by weight at a grade of 120g/t Au could be produced. Testing showed little benefit in the regrind step.
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This article includes content from Siren Gold, 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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