By-Products Jewel In The Crown For NT Project
Castile Resources Limited (ASX:CST) has obtained outstanding recovery results from the metallurgical testing at the 100% owned Rover 1 Project in Australia’s Northern Territory.
The company would also like to provide an update on the Rover 1 resource drilling programme.
Metallurgical Test Work Results Castile has now received the results of the large scale bulk flotation test completed by METS Engineering as part of the metallurgical testing being undertaken for the mining and processing studies for Rover 1.
The testing is designed to determine the percentage of contained metals that will be recovered from a bulk flotation process. The two key minerals are gold and copper with by-products cobalt and bismuth.
In addition, a fifth key mineral will be assessed as part of the processing flow sheet which Castile anticipates will be another revenue stream for the project. Additional Product from Rover 1 to Significantly Enhance Economic Studies
The testing has shown that significant quantities of a low impurity, high quality magnetite are contained within the ore that will be mined from Rover 1.
When processed, this specific type of magnetite becomes a density modifying industrial mineral in the beneficiation process in the coal industry and receives a premium price to standard magnetite ores. METS Engineering will now carry out a low intensity magnetic separation (LIMS) test to further assess the recoveries, quantity and purity of the magnetite.
Gold Recovery 93.8%
Gold will be extracted from the ore utilising gravity and flotation. Test results show that 21.4% of the contained gold can be extracted via an upfront gravity circuit and 72.4 % floats within the sulphide concentrate giving a total recovery of 93.8%. A portion of the remaining gold can be extracted utilising Carbon in Leach process which will be assessed on a cost benefit analysis.
Copper Recovery 97.8%
Copper recoveries were 97.8% from the bulk flotation which is an extremely high result. Metallurgy studies will now focus on producing an optimal copper concentrate product for sale to offshore smelters. Further studies will assess the economics of producing a pure copper plate product which would be easily saleable in Australia.
Cobalt Recovery 88.0% and Bismuth Recovery 89.7%
Managing Director, Mark Hepburn, said the recoverability of these two products into the bulk float now shows that Rover 1 may produce these two products in separate concentrates at commercial levels and we anticipate that they will have a very positive impact on the economics of the mining and modelling studies underway.
“The gold and copper remain the key minerals of the project, but the cobalt and bismuth are now providing further opportunities for revenue streams as shown by the recoveries and the indicative processing flowsheet,” Mr Hepburn said.
“ The jewel in the crown of the by-products may turn out to be the fifth mineral we are now studying, with testing confirming the magnetite in this (IOCG) Iron Oxide Copper Gold deposit may be suitable for use as a Density Modifying Industrial Mineral used for beneficiation in the coal industry. The enriched gold and copper zones are largely contained in the magnetite (ironstone) which will be mined along with the precious metals. It’s great that we can turn what is essentially a “waste” product into a significant income stream which not only enhances our economics, but also greatly reduces our environmental footprint.”
Exploration
The geological team has concluded that all remaining targets for the Jupiter Deeps resource definition drilling can be accessed from the parent Hole 21CRD005 which is the current hole the rig is positioned over.
The rig is currently drilling 21CRD005-1 and will now complete all the navi-wedges (daughter holes) from parent hole 21CRD005 which will remove the need to drill another parent hole as previously planned. Considerable time and money will be saved as a result and the company will now revert to one drilling rig.
For further information please visit: https://www.castile.com.au/
