Really Good News: Braveheart Completes Positive Ore Sorting Braveheart Completes Positive Ore Sorting Study at Bull River Mine Project
Calgary, Alberta--(Newsfile Corp. - April 19, 2021) - Braveheart Resources Inc. (TSXV: BHT) (OTCQB: RIINF) ("Braveheart" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the completion of an exceptionally positive ore sorting study at its 100% owned Bull River Mine project ("Bull River") near Cranbrook, British Columbia. Braveheart recently sent 206 rock samples from a stockpile of mineralized material consisting of copper, gold and silver at Bull River to the TOMRA Sorting Solutions ("TOMRA") facility in Hamburg, Germany. X-Ray technology ("XRT") was chosen as the most appropriate technique for the Bull River material on the expected differences in atomic densities of copper-bearing material and host rock. 61% of the sampled material was accepted by the sorter and 39% was rejected as non-economic low grade or waste. All samples were subsequently assayed at SGS Canada Inc. in Vancouver, Canada. The ore sorting study was managed by ABH Engineering ("ABH"), a world leader in ore sorting technology assessment and installation.
The rock samples were randomly selected from the top one metre of the surface stockpile. The average sample size was 0.72 kg. The stockpile is comprised of Run of Mine ("ROM") material from the underground workings. The arithmetic mean for all samples was 3.28% Cu, 28.2 g/t Ag and 0.318 g/t Au which significantly exceeds the current Resource for copper and silver. In total, 72 of the 206 grab samples exceeded 3% Cu, 46 samples exceeded 5% Cu and 20 samples exceeded 10% Cu. Of the 72 samples that exceeded 3% Cu, 36 samples exceeded 60 g/t Ag and 11 samples exceeded 100 g/t Ag. It is apparent that higher grade copper and silver values are strongly associated and there appears to be a strong nugget effect within the mineralized material. Gold did not have a strong association with accepted or rejected material. The average grade of the rejected material was 0.17% copper equivalent ("CuEq") which is well below the cut-off grade ("COG") for the current Resource.
The Company does not consider the above referenced assays as indicative of the grade of the mineralized material in the surface stockpile or in the underground Resource. Much of this ROM material originated from 9 level in the underground workings approximately 350 metres below surface. 9 Level has some of the better grades in the Resource.
In October 2013, Moose Mountain Technical Services ("MMTS") completed an independent scoping study on the Bull River Mine. The volume of the surface stockpile of mineralized material was surveyed and estimated to be 80,912 cubic metres. Based on an assumed swell factor of 30% for broken material and a specific gravity ("SG") of 2.65, the calculated tonnage for the stockpile was estimated to be 165,000 tonnes. In October 2020, Braveheart commissioned Align Survey Ltd. of Fernie, BC to complete an independent volumetric estimate of the mineralized material on surface. Their estimate was 85,638 cubic metres which exceeds the MMTS estimate.
Typically, 25% of the broken ROM material that is reporting to the ore sorter will be screened before going through the sorter and this material will become feedstock for the milling operation. Based on MMTS's estimate of 165,000 tonnes in the surface stockpile, 41,250 tonnes of mineralized material will be fines and the remaining 123,750 tonnes will be sent to the sorter. Based on a 39% reduction rate at the sorter, 48,260 tonnes of low grade or waste material will not be milled. Using operating costs of C$40 per tonne for milling, C$10 per tonne for general and administration and C$5 per tonne for rehandle, the milling cost for mineralized material is C$55 per tonne. By not milling the low-grade material, this represents a savings in operating costs of C$2.65 million versus a loss of $902,460 in net smelter values not including the cost of a rental ore sorting unit.
Braveheart has a current NI 43-101 technical report that was authored by Sue Bird P.Eng. of MMTS and titled Bull River Resource Estimate. The report was completed on November 4, 2018 and published on SEDAR on January 23, 2019. The Bull River Mine project has an Indicated Mineral Resource of 2,179,000 tonnes of mineralized material at 1.809% CuEq based on a COG of 1% CuEq. Additionally, the project has an Inferred Mineral Resource of 513,000 tonnes of mineralized material at 1.503% CuEq based on a COG of 0.6% CuEq. Braveheart plans to advance the Bull River mine project in a phased approach wherein the surface stockpile of mineralized material will provide the initial feedstock to an up-graded 700 tonne per day mill. Based on the results of this study, ore sorting could be introduced ahead of the grinding circuit. Ore sorting or pre-concentration of mineralized material has the potential benefits of increasing the mill feed grade which can result in an improved net present value ("NPV") of a mining project. Potential benefits include a lowering of operating costs on a unit basis, a reduction in the volume of fine tailings created through the milling process and the overall volume of material transported to the tailings storage facility, a reduction in power consumption particularly in the grinding circuit and a lower overall environmental impact.
Ian Berzins, President and CEO added "These results are extremely encouraging. The study demonstrates that ore sorting can provide economic benefit if introduced during milling of the surface stockpile. The greater benefit is in mining of the underground Resource of mineralized material that has been pre-developed on seven separate sublevels in the underground workings. Introduction of ore sorting could have a positive impact on the economics of our Bull River project and result in a reduction in the COG for the deposit and a resulting increase in the size of the Resource and an extension of the mine life. Additionally, it may be applicable at our newly acquired Thierry copper, nickel and silver project in Ontario."
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