RE:RE:Monument Achieves Commercial Production So, the residual problem is that they were still mixing and processing lower grade transition ore with oxides that resulted in a 61.4 % recovery .
Breast plate is about 83% recovery which is 33 % higher than 61.4 % and would have increased concentrate contained gold production to about 10,500 ounces .
That ain't too bad at this stage of the game.
They now have the new mining fleet fully operational , so this will increase production solely directed towards the fresh sulphide ore which has a higher grade, higher recovery and will achieve a better Mass pull.....more gold content per ton of concrete .
So, I think that a recovery of 12,000 ounces would be reasonable for Q2.
We now have excellent visibility as even 8000 ounces per quarter will generate $20 milion CAD in quarterly revenues .
So, this production by floatation is now proven and its current flaws will be remedied in the next few months leading to about 15000 ounces per quarter by exit Q4 of this fiscal year ..
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The throughput of the sulphide gold treatment plant achieved 90 per cent of design capacity for the 30-day period up to Aug. 16, 2023, thereby achieving the requirement for commercial production.
Mill availability during this period was 94 per cent and flotation mass pull was acceptable at 3.4 per cent versus design of 3.5 per cent.
As a result concentrate, production was at 79 tonnes per day in line with the designed protocol, considered satisfactory given the variability of the transition ore processed.
Flotation gold recovery was somewhat inconsistent due to the high clay content of freshly mined transition ore and the processing of stockpiled transition ore mixed with oxides that gave very poor flotation response.
Daily recoveries in excess of 80 per cent were recorded but overall gold recovery of 61.4 per cent was reported for the 30-day period up to Aug. 16, 2023.
Optimization of the flotation reagent suite continued, with particular attention to the addition of soda ash for pH control, potassium amyl xanthate as flotation collector and sodium hexametaphosphate as slime depressant. Issues experienced with the flotation air blowers were resolved after troubleshooting by Atlas Copco technicians.
Frequent failure of the pressure filter cloths continues to be an issue. New higher permeability filter cloths have been sourced from local and international vendors as well as from the filter press supplier McLanahan in the United States. The lead time for filter cloth orders is not acceptable for a six-month period. The company has communicated with the supplier to resolve this issue while alternative suppliers are selected.
Replacement filter plates have also been ordered from McLanahan to replace those that have worn prematurely, and regular cleaning of filter cloths and plates improved the overall efficiency of the filter press operation.