HIGHLIGHTS
- Steinert KSS 100F LIXT fine mechanical sorting unit (“ Sorter ”) enroute to Nullagine
- Phase 2 trials scheduled to commence once Sorter commissioned (expected early December 2021)
- Trials to continue through Q2 2022, at which time the Sorter is scheduled to be relocated to the Company’s Karratha project to continue detailed testwork at Comet Well and Purdy’s Reward, potentially leading to commercialization of mechanical sorting of Novo’s Pilbara gold deposits
“Mobilizing the mechanical sorter for Phase 2 field trials represents an important step in progressing this innovative technology,” commented Mr. Rob Humphryson, CEO and a director of Novo. “We are looking forward to observing Sorter performance from field samples collected at Comet Well, Purdy’s Reward, Talga Talga, and Egina ahead of larger-scale field trials at Comet Well and Purdy’s Reward scheduled for Q2 2022.”
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Nov. 10, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Novo Resources Corp. ( “Novo” or the “Company” ) (TSX: NVO, NVO.WT & NVO.WT.A) (OTCQX: NSRPF) is pleased to advise that Phase 2 mechanical sorting trials of Pilbara deposit bulk samples will commence from early December 2021. The Company’s Steinert KSS 100F LIXT fine mechanical sorting unit (the “ Sorter ”) will be installed adjacent to the Company’s Golden Eagle processing facility in Nullagine, Western Australia.
The Sorter is currently enroute to Nullagine and will be commissioned over the next few weeks. 50 samples from four different deposits across the Pilbara ( Figure 1 ), ranging in size from 800 kg to approximately five tonnes, will be crushed and screened into three size fractions prior to testing through the Sorter. The bulk samples will be processed by the Sorter to produce a concentrate for gold assay.
Once this second phase of testing is complete, expected around Q2 2022, the next phase of the test work will involve relocating the Sorter to the Company’ Comet Well project in Karratha, Western Australia and commencing proposed large-scale bulk sample sorting testwork of 20,000 tonnes, leading to potential commercialization of mechanical sorting for Pilbara conglomerates.
Figure 1 is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/3b991743-88e9-4c01-9e72-9ec6c1c722ed
The Sorter infrastructure, designed and constructed by OPS Screening and Crushing Equipment (“ OPS ”), is a fully modular and containerized turn-key plant deployable to any of Novo’s tenements in the future for testwork and potential large bulk sampling and processing ( Figure 2 ). The Sorter includes feed and product transfer conveyors, allowing the Sorter to produce gold-bearing concentrates in a single pass for further upgrading or downstream processing. The Sorter has been preassembled and commissioned in Perth, WA and is now being disassembled and transported to the Golden Eagle processing facility. It is expected that following reassembly, the Phase 2 trials will commence in early December and are expected to run through Q2 2022.
This trial of the Sorter within the Golden Eagle processing facility area is a culmination of several years of test work conducted by Novo to determine the amenability of mechanical sorting to its 13,250 sq km of tenements across Western Australia. Mechanical sensor-based sorting utilizes x-ray technology, 3D colour laser, and metal induction to identify gold-bearing material. A high-pressure air jet ‘shoots’ these gold bearing particles into a collection system to produce a concentrate for further downstream processing.
Novo looks forward to commencing its first site-based trial of the Sorter and takes this opportunity to thank its partners, OPS and Steinert, in bringing this innovation to fruition.
Figure 2 is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/2cd5733c-51a5-4c0b-8af1-ded3938a18ce
QP STATEMENT
Dr. Quinton Hennigh (P.Geo.) is the qualified person, as defined under National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects , responsible for, and having reviewed and approved, the technical information contained in this news release. Dr. Hennigh is the non-executive co-chairman and a director of Novo.