Fulcrum Metals plc has increased gold recoveries by up to an “exceptional” 63% for phase I at the Sylvanite gold tailings project in Kirkland Lake, Ontario.
POTENTIAL
A significant reduction in leach times of up to 94% was also recorded.
The company is testing Extrakt Process Solutions LLC’s processing non-toxic technology through a four-phase programme.
The “significant improvements” contrast with 2008 cyanide-based test methods with an increase from 30 to 49%, while leaching times fell from 48 hours to three hours.
Fulcrum said that Extrakt believed the results indicated a possible higher gold recovery through optimisation of the “operational parameters”.
A phase II conceptual study has also started at the company’s second project of Teck-Hughes gold tailings also in Kirkland Lake.
Results from a total 95 augur samples returned the highest assay of 1.73g/t gold.
An estimate of tonnage, based on the sampling and from historic drilling, totals 6,531,300 tonnes of material at 0.66g/t gold for 138,460 ounces contained gold over the north, west and northeast arm of the tailings.
Sampling from an additional 16 site auger holes is nearing completion with results expected to expand the data set for a 43-101 technical report.
Chief executive Ryan Mee added that leaching was key to unlocking the “vast resource potential” within the mine waste at Kirkland Lake which produced more than 40 million ounces of gold.
“The unoptimised leach test work at Sylvanite and Teck-Hughes earlier this year is a significant step in proving the disruptive potential of Extrakt’s technology.
“The technology, which is being used by Fulcrum, places us at the forefront in discovering lost resources from mine waste including from difficult refractory ore.”