RE:Article about the NFG / MAE deal...The now in use XRAY Sorting technology is very well demonstrated by MAE's fourth and final bulk sample test using HammerDown Ore in 2021..
June 23, 2021
Maritime Resources Reports Positive Sorting Results on Hammerdown Bulk Sample
TORONTO, ON (June 23, 2021) - Maritime Resources Corp. (TSX.V: MAE) (“Maritime” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce positive results of the recent further test work aimed at confirming the use of sorting technology to reject waste rock dilution and improve the processed grade of mineral resources at the Hammerdown Gold Project (“Hammerdown” or “the Project”), in the Baie Verte mining district of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The integration of sorting technology in the planned feasibility study for Hammerdown is expected to reduce the Company’s environmental footprint and operating cost.
Maritime commissioned TOMRA in early 2021 to complete sorting tests using an X-Ray Transmission (“XRT”) sensor on a bulk sample of approximately 6,500 kg, taken from mineralized sources on a number of veins at the Hammerdown deposit. After screening to remove the fine particles (-12.7mm), approximately 5,100 kg of sample was tested at TOMRA’s test facility in Wedel, Germany. This is the fourth sorting test program conducted by Maritime for the Hammerdown Gold Project. Additional tests are underway for the Company’s Orion deposit and are planned for the Whisker Valley Project.
Test Program Highlights
- Test work was based on operating two XRT sorting machines in parallel, each processing separate size fractions of +12.7-38.0mm and +38.0-63.5mm, to concentrate the sulphide rich mineralization while rejecting the bulk of the dilution taken during the mining process.
- Sorting performance for the +38.0-63.5mm material, grading approximately 11.2 gpt Au, returned a sorted product grading 22.9 gpt Au (104% increase) in only 47.1% of the mass with gold recovery of 96.6%.
- Sorting performance for the +12.7-38.0mm material, grading approximately 11.8 gpt Au, returned a sorted product grading 19.5 gpt Au (65% increase) in only 59.0% of the mass with gold recovery of 97.2%.
- Overall results on ~11.2 gpt Au feed material recombining the -12.7mm fine fraction, resulted in a final screened and sorted mill feed product grading 16.6 gpt Au in only 66% of the original mass with gold recovery of 97.7%.
- Rejects (dilution) from the overall sorting process represented 34% of the overall feed with a grade of 0.7 gpt Au. This material would be backhauled to the mine for backfill and long-term closure.
- Additional testing on 905 kg of lower grade variability composites grading 3.4 gpt Au returned a final product grading 5.3 gpt Au (56% increase) in only 55% of the mass with gold recovery of 86.3%. The rejected dilution aligned well with the bulk sample grade at an average of 0.7 gpt Au. A sample from the Wisteria zone was also tested with a feed grade of 2.6 gpt Au that returned a final product grading 4.6 gpt Au (77% increase) in only 49.0% of the mass with gold recovery of 85.0%, indicating that this zone responds to sorting similarly to the rest of the deposit.
- The test work completed throughout 2019 and 2020 on numerous samples from Hammerdown has provided the Company with an excellent data set that affords confidence in the sorting performance predictions across a range of grades.
Operating and Environmental Benefits
Sorting is an innovative method of concentrating mineralization using sensitive X-Ray sensors and compressed air while rejecting run-of-mine waste dilution that commonly accompanies the mining process. Deposits such as Hammerdown, with high grade gold associated with pyrite contained in quartz veins, respond very well to XRT sorting.
An investment in this technology for the Hammerdown Project has many operational and environmental benefits, which sustain over the life the Project, from operations through to mine closure. By rejecting up to 50% of the run of mine (“ROM”) feed, the sorter rejected waste remains on site and only a concentrated sorted product would be transported by truck approximately 130 km to the Nugget Pond gold plant. This is a direct and significant savings in trucking cost, and a significant reduction in green house gas (“GHG”) emissions from reduced diesel fuel consumption.Eliminating waste from the material to be transported means fewer transport trucks on the highway. Furthermore, removing a significant quantity of waste from the mill process feed, reduces grinding circuit energy consumption proportionally. It also reduces the water requirements, volume of process reagents used, and decreases the volume of tailings requiring long term storage.
Garett Macdonald, President and CEO of Maritime, commented: “The results from the TOMRA tests validate the favorable mineralogy of the Hammerdown Gold Project for sorting technology. These new tests, combined with additional test work completed in 2019 and 2020, demonstrate the potential to provide a higher-grade sorted concentrate at a low cost to the Nugget Pond gold circuit. It will also enable Maritime to substantially reduce the overall environmental footprint of the Project by significantly reducing GHG emissions, process water, chemicals and energy required in comparison to conventional processing. This is another example of our ongoing commitment to integrate industry leading environmental practices and we’re excited about adopting this technology at our projects in Newfoundland and Labrador.”
About Maritime Resources Corp.