IXHUATAN METALLURGICAL TO PRE-FEASIBILITY CANGOLD ADVANCES METALLURGICAL PROGRAM TO PRE-FEASIBILITY LEVEL FOR IXHUATAN GOLD-SILVER PROJECT
Metallurgical testing for Cangold Ltd.'s Ixhuatan gold-silver project in Chiapas, Mexico, has been advanced to a prefeasibility level. Phase 1 metallurgical testing at SGS Lakefield, Canada, consisted of a scoping-level gold recovery test program to define the plant process flowsheet. Testwork results indicated recoveries averaging 87 per cent (range of 82 to 93 per cent). The average grade obtained by SGS Lakefield for the four drill core samples tested (see news release May 1, 2012) was 2.77 grams per tonne gold.
"This is a very positive development for the Ixhuatan project," stated Robert Archer, Cangold's president and chief executive officer. "The higher recoveries compared to previous testwork using conventional processes, and the possibility of obtaining recoveries in excess of 90 per cent, bode well for the future of the project."
Phase 2 of the metallurgical testwork has been initiated to compare gold recoveries for three alternative gold recovery flowsheets using a composite sample of material on hand. The activities will also include testwork for grindability and abrasion for each of the four samples. It is expected to take eight to 10 weeks to complete the phase 2 program, for which the company is fully financed.
This work will guide plant and tailings design work at a prefeasibility level. A formal prefeasibility study with a resulting NI 43-101 report is slated to commence in September, 2012, when the appropriate and respectively disciplined professional engineers are in place. At that point, the time frame and cost of the prefeasibility work will be determined.
The Campamento deposit at the Ixhuatan project contains an NI 43-101-compliant mineral resource comprising 17.6 million tonnes at average grades of 1.84 grams per tonne gold and 7.79 g/t silver in the measured and indicated categories (1,041,000 ounces of gold and 4.4 million ounces of silver) and 21.8 million tonnes at average grades of 1.01 g/t gold and 3.23 g/t silver in the inferred category (703,000 ounces of gold and 2.26 million ounces of silver), both using a 0.5 g/t gold cut-off. Cangold is earning a 75-per-cent interest in the Ixhuatan project through its own wholly owned Mexican subsidiary, Coboro Minerales de Mexico, S.A. de C.V.
Robert Brown, PEng, director and vice-president exploration for Cangold, is the qualified person for the company. He has reviewed the technical information referenced above and has approved this news release.