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TORONTO, CANADA / TheNewswire / Northquest Ltd. (TSX.V-NQ) (FWB-N3Q) ("Northquest" or "the Company") is pleased to announce the results of a preliminary metallurgical evaluation of the Vickers Zone of the Pistol Bay Gold Project, Nunavut, Canada. Since field operations commenced in April 2011, the Company has completed three airborne geophysical surveys and 13,660 metres of diamond drilling in 66 drill holes, of which 9,400 metres of drilling and 37 drill holes were completed at the Vickers Target.
Ten composite samples ranging from 4.3 to 5.6 kilograms in mass were collected from drill holes completed in 2014. The gold grade in the samples varied from 2.2 to 25.5 grams gold per tonne. Five samples were from the gold-bearing intrusive rocks and 5 samples were from the host rock sequence of the Vickers Gold Zone. The objective of this work was to determine gold recovery from rocks of the Vickers Gold Zone using a gravity circuit followed by cyanidation leaching of the gravity tailings.
Gravity results
The samples at a nominal grind sizing of between 64 to 104 microns K80 were subjected to Knelson gravity separation followed by hand panning. Gold recoveries to a pan concentrate ranged from 36 to 73 per cent, indicating that a large portion of the gold in these rocks was recoverable by simple gravity concentration techniques.
Cyanidation leaching results
Gravity tails were subjected to cyanidation leaching for 48 hours with a nominal sodium cyanide concentration of 1,000 ppm. Gold extraction ranged from 84 to 99 per cent of the gold in the leach feed and averaged approximately 94 per cent, and gold extraction rate plateaued after about 8 hours for all of the samples. Sodium cyanide and lime consumption averaged approximately 0.42 and 0.51 kilograms per tonne of leach feed respectively.
Summary of preliminary metallurgical testing
The total recovery of gold from the ten samples is considered excellent for all of the samples and ranged from 93.1 to 99.6 per cent. This preliminary testing indicates that the gold in the rocks of the Vickers Gold Zone is probably recoverable through standard gravity and cyanidation leach methods, with a high proportion derived from simple gravity concentration techniques.
A copy of the report "Preliminary Metallurgical Evaluation of Samples from the Pistol Bay Project" by ALS Metallurgy Kamloops is available for download on the Company web site www.northquest.biz.
Jon North, CEO, stated, "this preliminary metallurgical evaluation confirms our contention that the gold in the rocks of the Vickers Gold Zone is amenable to conventional gold extraction methods with very high recoveries".
Metallurgical analyses discussed herein were completed by ALS Metallurgy, Kamloops, B.C., an ISO 9001:2008 accredited laboratory.
Potential quantity and grade is conceptual in nature. There has been insufficient exploration to define a mineral resource at the Pistol Bay Project to date, and it is uncertain if further exploration will result in the target being delineated as a mineral resource. Northquest is a mineral exploration company focused on the acquisition, exploration and development of properties for the mining of gold and other minerals. Northquest has 66,631,484 shares outstanding ( 84,448,853 shares on a fully diluted basis). For further information please visit www.northquest.biz.
For further information please contact:
Jon North, Ph.D., P.Geo.
President and Chief Executive Officer
Tel. (416) 306-0202
Mobile (416) 786-6348
www.northquest.biz
Certain information set forth in this news release may contain forward-looking statements that involve substantial known and unknown risks and uncertainties. These statements relate to future events or future performance and reflect the Company's expectations regarding the future growth, results of operations, business prospects and opportunities. In some cases forward-looking information can be identified by terminology such as "may", "will", "should", "expect", "intend", "plan", "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "projects", "potential", "scheduled", "forecast", "budget" or the negative of those terms or other comparable terminology. These forward-looking statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, certain of which are beyond the control of the Company, including, but not limited to, the impact of general economic conditions, industry conditions, volatility of commodity prices, risks associated with the uncertainty of exploration results and estimates, metallurgical test results and that the resource potential will be achieved on exploration projects, currency fluctuations, dependence upon regulatory approvals, political and country risk, and the uncertainty of obtaining additional financing and exploration risk. Readers are cautioned that the assumptions used in the preparation of such information, although considered reasonable at the time of preparation, may prove to be imprecise and, as such, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements. The Company expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, events or otherwise, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.
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