Ecuador gov and miners look at BacTech bioleaching for help. BACTECH COMPLETES COLLECTION OF GOLD CONCENTRATE SAMPLES FROM SIX ECUADOR PROCESSING PLANTS
Bactech Environmental Corp. has completed the collection of gold concentrate samples produced by six different gold processing facilities in Ponce Enriquez and Portovelo, Ecuador.
Ross Orr, president and chief executive officer of Bactech, states: "This represents an important step to move the Ponce Enriquez bioleach gold project forward in Ecuador. We are very pleased that we were able to attract concentrate from various producers in our selected test areas, which demonstrates their willingness and desire to improve margins and to provide sound environmental solutions in a region that depends on mining to provide local jobs and economic well-being for its own people."
The six collected 10-kilogram samples will be assayed at a local laboratory and a representative composite sample will then be made and shipped to Perth, Australia. Once in Perth, the sample material will be sent to ALS labs where a bioleach test program will be undertaken under the supervision of Bactech vice-president, technology and engineering, Dr. Paul Miller. The bioleach test program results and report are expected to be completed within six months.
Based on prior Bactech sampling experience, the company anticipates a positive outcome to the proposed bioleach test program, at which time a third party engineering group will be engaged to undertake a prefeasibility study that would provide anticipated economics for the project.
The areas where the gold concentrate samples were collected are known for their high levels of arsenic. It is this high level of arsenic in the concentrates that leads to dramatically reduced prices being paid to local producers. The majority of the discounted high arsenic material is bought by Asian smelters and roasters and shipped offshore.
As opposed to shipping the concentrate offshore, Bactech proposes to build a local plant that would endeavour to pay higher prices for the concentrate and keep jobs in Ecuador. The combination of inexpensive energy, high grades of gold, favourable tax incentives, the elimination of transportation costs to Asia and the government export tax makes the use of bioleaching in Ponce Enriquez extremely attractive for gold producers and Bactech.
Bactech is targeting concentrates with a cut-off grade of 40 grams per tonne and arsenic levels above 10 per cent. The following are the grades reported by the processing plants for the samples that were collected.
The average grade of arsenic in the samples exceeds 13 per cent. Given the high level of arsenic in the concentrates, the producer is forced to accept heavy penalties from the buyers.
Bactech has publicly discussed that the expected daily capacity of the proposed Ponce Enriquez bioleaching plant would be 40 tonnes per day. From the attached table, the company identifies a cumulative feed of 1,125 tonnes per month or 37.5 tpd of concentrate. Given the positive response the company received from the producers, Bactech will consider increasing the initial capacity of the plant to 50 tpd or more. The company believes that the completion of the plant in Ponce Enriquez will attract additional feed from other mines in Ecuador as well as Peru and Colombia. Bioleaching is modular in nature and can be expanded without interrupting an existing operation.
Yesterday, Bactech commented on a recent tailings burst in Ponce Enriquez. The company is eager to bring assistance to the tailing issues in Ponce Enriquez in addition to safely processing concentrates from local mines. Bactech has held discussions with various levels of government in the past and will continue to provide feedback to them as it proceeds with its test program.