Ecuador Gold expects Santa Barbara PEA by JanuaryThis should remove some of the uncertainty. January to March is the best time for gold stocks according to Pierre Lassonde. With Ecuador mining laws changing, a higher price in gold and other positive developments in Ecuador, the timing of the PEA should be good. Not sure what to make of the recovery numbers yet as there are still a lot of variables that the report should explain.
2014-12-08 08:39 ET - News Release
Mr. Glenn Laing reports
ECUADOR GOLD ANNOUNCES ENCOURAGING METALLURGICAL TESTWORK RESULTS
Ecuador Gold and Copper Corp.'s consulting engineer, GBM Minerals Engineering Consultants Ltd., which is currently undertaking, through Resource Development Inc. (RDI) of Denver, Colo., the additional metallurgical test work that was announced in the May 29, 2014, news release, as part of the NI 43-101 preliminary economic assessment technical report (PEA) on the company's flagship Santa Barbara project, has released encouraging results from this test work and has advised the company that the PEA will be completed by the end of January, 2015. In addition, the company has acquired key surface landholdings that cover a substantial part of the surface footprint of the Santa Barbara project.
Metallurgical test work update
RDI reported that the following conclusions can be drawn from the additional metallurgical test work which incorporates alternative flotation reagents and fine grinding:
- Copper and gold recoveries achievable by rougher flotation are plus or minus 80 per cent and plus or minus 65 per cent, respectively.
- Due to the very small particle size of some of the chalcopyrite, as seen in the mineralogy study, the recovery of copper is unlikely to increase without grinding the ore to extremely fine size (for example, plus or minus 10 millimetres).
- Flotation at acidic pH conditions improved copper and gold recoveries in the rougher flotation.
- Sulphidization of the ore slightly improved copper and gold recoveries in the rougher flotation.
- The optimum process conditions for the ore are primary grind of P80 of 200 mesh and reagent suite consisting of potassium amyl xanthate (PAX), AP-208 and methylisobutal carbonal (MIBC).
Previous metallurgical test work using whole ore cyanide leaching and a two-stage flotation process has resulted in an 86-per-cent recovery of gold and a 64-per-cent recovery of copper.
Based on the metallurgical test work to date the company believes that a flow sheet based on fine grinding of the rougher tails (P80 of 200 mesh) followed by flotation to recover a copper concentrate and cyanidation of the cleaner and rougher tails will produce recoveries of the order of 80 per cent copper and 80 per cent gold.
Additional metallurgical test work during prefeasibility or feasibility studies will improve this flow sheet, optimize reagent consumption and confirm operating costs.
The above conclusion and the findings from the previous metallurgical test work program will be incorporated in an optimized metallurgical flow sheet for the PEA.
Completion date for the preliminary economic assessment report
GBM have informed the company that based on the above metallurgical test work results it is now in a position to complete the PEA and have committed to an end January, 2015, completion date.
Additional surface lands acquisition and Santa Barbara project
The company has acquired a surface land package of approximately 160 hectares that covers a substantial part of the project footprint for the Santa Barbara project. This is a very positive step toward the development of the Santa Barbara project as this land package covers a large part of the proposed open pit, surface processing and infrastructure facilities.
Qualified person
Mit Tilkov, PGeo, vice-president, exploration, of Ecuador Gold and Copper , is a qualified person, as defined by NI 43-101, and is responsible for the preparation of the technical information in this news release.
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