HIGHLIGHTS
• Coarse-grind metallurgical test work: Metallurgical test program augments existing metallurgical data with stress-testing and gravity recovery information and assists current tolling discussions with a third-party gold mining and processing operation.
• Stress-testing involved metallurgical testing at a coarse grind size of 150 microns, compared to standard testing conducted at a finer 75 microns.
• Test results confirm the overall tenor of existing metallurgical results that were conducted at a grind size of 75 microns. Coarser 150-micron grind size shows a slight decrease in recovery by around 6% for the Steam Engine Lode and minimal decrease for the Eastern Ridge Lode of around 2%. Coarser grinding generally liberates less gold, resulting in lower recoveries.
• Results on the samples tested indicate gold recoveries averaging between 78% and 81.2% for the Steam Engine Lode and 91.4% average for the Eastern Ridge Lode. Full test work across the deposit indicates gold recoveries averaging 82% for the Steam Engine Lode and 95% for the Eastern Ridge Lode.
• Gravity concentration increases recovery: Boost in overall recovery by up to 8.3% by the addition of a gravity concentration circuit.
• Further recovery improvements with finer grinding: Results indicate the potential for further recovery improvements by finer grinding, particularly for an owner-operated processing plant scenario.
Superior’s Managing Director, Peter Hwang commented: “We are pleased with the results of the further metallurgical test program, which support the results from earlier test work. This program was designed to stress-test the earlier results by investigating the deleterious effects of using a coarser grind of the samples.
“Results from the test program will also further progress current toll treatment discussions with a third-party processing operation.
“Importantly, the results support the strongly positive outcomes from the recent Scoping Study, which assumed a base-case gold price of A$3,250 per ounce. At an assumed gold price of A$4,250, the Scoping Study financial model indicates overall pre-tax cash flow of approximately A$98 million.
“We look forward to updating the market with progress on the Feasibility Study and project development pathway.”
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