Xanadu Mines (ASX: XAM) continues to deliver positive metallurgical testwork for its Kharmagtai copper-gold project in Mongolia, with its latest figures showing recoveries of up to 94 per cent copper and 92 per cent gold.
Management says tests using the “Eriez HydroFloat” system showed the company could recover valuable minerals within the 150-to-200 micron range that conventional flotation methods are unable to achieve.
The peak results were attained on coarser grind options ranging from 150 microns to 450 microns on Kharmagtai sulphide mineralisation and enabled a peak coarse reject of 43.8 per cent by mass. Rougher recoveries of 91 per cent for copper and 83 per cent for gold were recorded at 250 microns.
Management says the positive figures demonstrated excellent results for one of the key uplift scenarios identified in its recent scoping study into the operation.
Benefits could potentially include reduced power and water intensity per tonne of ore processed. It could also lead to increased mill and plant capacity, which could then lead to an increased production rate.
These results provide strong support for our Scoping Study uplift scenario using coarse ore flotation to improve overall project economics. This uplift is achieved through increasing throughput and accelerating mining and processing rates which ultimately accelerate revenue generation at Kharmagtai.
Xanadu Mines executive chairman and managing director Colin Moorhead
The company’s flagship Kharmagtai project hosts a massive mineral resource of 1.3 billion tonnes at 0.3 per cent copper and 0.2g/t gold for 3.4 million tonnes of contained copper and 8.5 million gold ounces. The total resource includes 52 million tonnes of oxide material, primarily in the top 20m from the surface.
Further tests will be conducted, including work to determine the optimal timing to include “HydroFloat” into the processing flowsheet to maximise the benefits.
Just last month, leaching tests on the shallower oxidised portion of the project’s mineral resource delivered positive metallurgical extraction results of up to 93 per cent copper and 46 per cent gold. Oxide leach recovery had previously been identified as one of multiple potential uplift scenarios in the company’s scoping study by reducing mining strip and generating earlier operating cashflows.
The company last year completed two phases of its strategic partnership with China’s giant Zinjin Mining Group, providing access to funding for its recent exploration blitz at the operation. The deal saw Zijin invest US$35 million (AU$54 million), which will also be used to complete the Kharmagtai prefeasibility study (PFS).
A 50:50 joint venture (JV) has been created between the two partners at a project level, with Xanadu to be the operator on the ground. The partnership has allocated 18 months to knock over the PFS, which is expected to be completed this year, while an earlier scoping study identified several upside opportunities that could materially upgrade the economics of the project.
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