TIDMEUZ
RNS Number : 8339U
Europa Metals Ltd
04 August 2022
4 August 2022
Europa Metals Ltd
("Europa Metals", the "Company" or the "Group") (AIM, AltX:
EUZ)
Further Highly Encouraging Metallurgical Results at Toral and
Operational Update
Europa Metals, the European focused lead, zinc and silver
developer, is pleased to announce highly encouraging results from
its comprehensive metallurgical testwork programme and an update on
its resource drilling campaign at its wholly owned Toral lead, zinc
and silver project in the Castilla y León region, Spain ("Toral" or
the "Toral Project").
Highlights :
-- Metallurgical testwork results received from Wardell
Armstrong International Ltd ("WAI") in respect of locked cycle
flotation tests ("LCT") on products from an ore sorted bulk
siliceous sample
o Concentrate Grades 56.6% Zinc 69.6% Lead
o Overall recovery (Sort & Float) 78.6% Zinc 80.7% Lead
-- Metallurgical results received for LCT from WAI on a further two carbonate samples from:
Hole TOD-025D:
o Concentrate Grades 57.4% Zinc 75.2% Lead
o Overall recovery (Sort & Float) 81.4% Zinc 94.4% Lead
Hole TOD-028:
o Concentrate Grades 60.3% Zinc 64.1% Lead
o Overall recovery (Sort & Float) 84.0% Zinc 87.3% Lead
-- Resource drilling ongoing
o Following a delay to the start of the current campaign,
progress has been impacted by drilling personnel contracting
COVID-19
o Hole TOD-041 has been completed with mineralisation being
intersected at the planned target depth
o Hole TOD-042 drilling is underway and currently at 280m with a
target depth of approximately 900m
o Rig is now operating on a double shift basis in order to seek
to catch up with the original programme schedule
Commenting today, Myles Campion, Executive Chairman and acting
CEO of Europa Metals, said :
"We have been busy so far this year on all fronts, including the
recent completion of our metallurgical testwork campaign with WAI
which achieved excellent results from both the upper siliceous zone
and the lower carbonate zone.
"Lead and zinc recoveries to respective concentrates are very
good. Ore sorting has played a part in lifting these recoveries
(zinc to zinc concentrate by approximately 4 percentage points and
lead to lead concentrate by approximately 3 percentage points,
versus the previous results on unsorted ore) which is highly
encouraging. The grades achieved for both Zinc and Lead are better
than previous results, with the siliceous showing that the upper
levels can also produce a high-grade concentrate.
"I am also pleased with our ongoing drill programme, albeit
there is some catching up still to do, which will aim to prove up
further indicated resources at depth."
Metallurgical Testwork : Ore Sorting followed by Froth Flotation
of Ore Sort Concentrates
Samples from Ore Sorting undertaken by Tomra GmbH, were
submitted to WAI earlier this year. The samples tested were a bulk
sample of siliceous style mineralisation and two borehole
composites of carbonate style mineralisation. The siliceous sample
was a composite of intersections from boreholes TOD-029, TOD-029D,
TOD-029D2, TOD-029D3, TOD-034 and TOD-034D (a total of 701.09 kg).
The carbonate samples were taken from boreholes TOD-025D and
TOD-028 (96.36 kg and 50.7 kg respectively).
The ore sorting results announced previously by the Company in
March 2022 were as follows:
Siliceous bulk sample
-- Recovery of 95.7% Pb and 94.3% Zn metal
-- 43.7% mass rejection of waste
Carbonate composite from hole TOD-025D
-- Recovery of 98.9% Pb and 94.7% Zn metal
-- 46.8% mass rejection of waste
Carbonate composite from hole TOD-028
-- Recovery of 96.6% Pb and 96.1% Zn metal
-- 47.7% mass rejection of waste
The sorter products were the subject of the recently completed
campaign of locked cycle flotation with the metallurgical results
received from WAI comprising:
-- Siliceous bulk sample
o Flotation Recoveries 83.4% Zinc 84.3% Lead
o Flotation Concentrate Grades 56.6% Zinc 69.6% Lead
o Overall recovery (Sort & Float) 78.6% Zinc 80.7% Lead
-- Carbonate sample from hole TOD-025D
o Flotation Recovery 85.9% Zinc 95.4% Lead
o Flotation Concentrate Grades 57.4% Zinc 75.2% Lead
o Overall recovery (Sort & Float) 81.4% Zinc 94.4% Lead
-- Carbonate sample from hole TOD-028
o Flotation Recovery 87.4% Zinc 90.3% Lead
o Flotation Concentrate Grades 60.3% Zinc 64.1% Lead
o Overall recovery (Sort & Float) 84.0% Zinc 87.3% Lead
Comparison with the 2019 locked cycle flotation tests on
carbonate drill core
Locked cycle flotation tests simulate a full-scale plant
flowsheet. Each test at WAI's facilities was conducted in a series
of six cycles using the flowsheet shown in Figure 1 below. For the
second and subsequent cycles, lead and zinc cleaner tailings
products were combined with the feed to the previous stage of
flotation. For example, lead second cleaner tails were returned to
first cleaner feed. The final concentrates, zinc scavenger tailings
and zinc rougher tailings from the final two cycles, were weighed
and sent for independent analysis. The results were then used to
calculate recovery and concentrate grades.
Figure 1 :
Locked Cycle Test Flowsheet
http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/8339U_1-2022-8-3.pdf
Results of the 2019 and 2022 testwork programmes are summarised
in Table 1 below. These results indicate that Toral could clearly
achieve excellent concentrate grades.
Table 1 :
Summarised Results of the 2019 and 2022 Testwork
(Note : recovery and concentration data are from the original
feed)
Test Lead Concentrate Zinc Concentrate
Lead Recovery CR Conc Zinc Recovery CR Conc
(%) (% Pb) (%) (% Zn)
-------------- ----- -------- -------------- ----- --------
2019 Carbonate
LCT1 Float 84.3 39.4 57.5 70.7 29.8 55.8
-------------- ----- -------- -------------- ----- --------
2019 Carbonate
LCT2 Float 83.7 34.9 60.0 77.0 24.9 59.1
-------------- ----- -------- -------------- ----- --------
2022
Carbonate
025D
Sort + Float 94.4 18.8 75.2 81.4 42.3 57.4
-------------- ----- -------- -------------- ----- --------
2022
Carbonate
028
Sort + Float 87.3 51.4 64.1 84.0 24.0 60.3
-------------- ----- -------- -------------- ----- --------
2022 Silicate
Sort + Float 80.7 59.7 69.6 78.6 52.9 56.6
-------------- ----- -------- -------------- ----- --------
Ore sorting and froth flotation are processes that concentrate
and recover metal values. The concentration ratio ("CR") is defined
as the weight of feed divided by the weight of concentrate.
Performance of an individual test can be judged in terms of
recovery and CR. For an operating plant, daily results for recovery
and CR continually vary. However, the results generally form a
trend when plotted on axes of recovery versus CR. The same type of
plot can be useful in comparing locked cycle test results.
Figure 2 :
Zinc Recovery vs Concentration Ratio Plot of LCT Results
http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/8339U_1-2022-8-3.pdf
Overall results for zinc recovery (for 2022, sort & float
and for 2019, just float) are shown in Figure 2. At any given CR,
higher recovery indicates improved performance, and figure 2
illustrates that the combined sort plus float procedure has given
better performance than flotation alone for the zinc
concentrate.
In respect of the 2022 results, the best estimate of zinc
recovery is the trendline shown in Figure 2, which is "a least
squares fit" for the three different testwork data points. This
line intersects the recovery axis at 89.7%.
This intercept incorporates for zinc metal losses during the
sorting process of 3.9% and also a recovery loss during the
flotation process of a further 6.4% of zinc to lead
concentrate.
The equation of the trend line is as follows:
Recovery % = 89.7 - (0.21 * CR)
In practice, when a full-scale plant and concentrator are in
operation the aim is to produce a saleable zinc concentrate grade
of approximately 55% to 60% Zn. To achieve this target concentrate
grade, the required concentration ratio (and achievable recovery)
depends mainly on the headgrade from the deposit.
At Toral, the average resource grade (October 2021 Resource
Estimate, @ 4% Zn equivalent cut off) is 3.9% zinc, such that a
future potential processing plant could operate at a CR of 17 to
zinc concentrate, which would achieve a zinc recovery of 86.1% and
a concentrate grade of 57.1% zinc.
An approximate estimate of the zinc recovery improvement
resulting from sorting can be made from Figure 2 . Projecting the
two points from the 2019 testwork back to a CR of 17 and then
comparing with the best estimate of recovery trendline indicates a
recovery improvement of approximately 4 percentage points.
Figure 3 :
Lead Recovery vs Concentration Ratio Plot of LCT Results
http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/8339U_1-2022-8-3.pdf
Overall results for lead recovery (for 2022, sort & float
and for 2019, just float) are shown in Figure 3, with the combined
sort plus float procedure again giving better performance than
flotation alone.
In respect of the 2022 results, the best estimate of lead
recovery is the trendline shown in Figure 3, which is "a least
squares fit" for the three testwork data points, intersecting the
recovery axis at 97.4%. This intercept allows for the average loss
of lead during sorting of 2.6% and the equation of the trend line
is as follows:
Recovery % = 97.4 - (0.24 * CR)
In practice, a concentrator would seek to produce a saleable
lead concentrate grade of approximately 70% lead. The average
resource grade at Toral (October 2021 Resource Estimate) is 2.7%
lead, such that a CR of 29 to lead concentrate would be required to
achieve a lead recovery of 90.4% and a concentrate grade of 70.8%
lead.
An approximate estimate of the lead recovery improvement
resulting from sorting can be made from Figure 2 . Projecting the
two points from the 2019 testwork back to a CR of 29 and then
comparing with the best estimate of recovery trendline indicates a
recovery improvement of approximately 3 percentage points.
In summary, the Europa Metals' team believes that ore sorting
followed by flotation has significant cost, performance and
operational advantages compared with flotation alone.
The Company will now consider how best to utilise ore sorter
rejects and flotation tailings. These waste products will be
valuable as potential cemented aggregate backfill and paste fill
for underground mining operations. Some tailings products could
also be used as landfill for reclamation of an existing quarry.
Analysis of Final Concentrates Produced in the 2022 Locked Cycle
Testwork
Final zinc and lead concentrates from the 2022 testwork were
sent for detailed chemical analyses. The analyses for commonly
applied penalty elements are shown in Table 2 below. The
concentrates were generally below penalty levels except for
mercury. High mercury levels are common for Spanish zinc
concentrates and local smelters are able to manage such feeds. As
an alternative, a future plant at Toral could incorporate a
concentrate treatment process in order to reduce the mercury to
below penalty levels.
Table 2 :
Penalty Element Analyses of Concentrates Produced in the 2022
Testwork
Concentrate As (ppm) Bi Cd (ppm) Fe Mg (%) Mn (ppm) Hg (ppm) F (ppm)
From Testwork (ppm) (%)
Siliceous
Lead Conc 513 2.6 87 4.32 0.08 80 234 120
--------- ------- --------- ----- ------- --------- --------- --------
Siliceous
Zinc Conc 104 0.2 1,325 2.72 0.06 120 2,970 40
--------- ------- --------- ----- ------- --------- --------- --------
Carbonate
025D Lead
Conc 80 2.6 60.8 1.04 0.29 60 96 <20
--------- ------- --------- ----- ------- --------- --------- --------
Carbonate
025D Zinc
Conc 33 0.1 1,445 1.83 0.28 70 1,745 30
--------- ------- --------- ----- ------- --------- --------- --------
Carbonate
028 Lead
Conc 212 7.9 177.5 5.6 0.17 60 197 30
--------- ------- --------- ----- ------- --------- --------- --------
Carbonate
028 Zinc
Conc 16 0.1 1,635 1.75 0.08 50 1,085 20
--------- ------- --------- ----- ------- --------- --------- --------
Penalty
Level for
Zinc Conc 2,000 200 2,500 8% 0.18% 5,000 50 200
--------- ------- --------- ----- ------- --------- --------- --------
Resource Drilling
Following an initial delay to the arrival of the rig on site due
to increased exploration activity and therefore rig demand in
Spain, the first hole, TOD-041, has recently been completed. Hole
TOD-041 intersected mineralisation at its target depth, whilst
drilling of hole TOD-042 has commenced and is advancing well, as
the rig contractor is operating on a double shift, and is currently
at 280m with a target depth of approximately 900m.
The objective of this ongoing campaign is to seek to extend the
indicated resource at depth towards the east of the current zone
and link up a known area of encouraging data. If successful, this
will add tonnes to the envisaged future mining plan. Additionally,
all holes are being geotechnically evaluated as we drill, thereby
providing additional information for the feasibility study
process.
This drilling campaign will also complete our R&D
collaboration project with the Centre for the Development of
Industrial Technology (CDTI) which will conclude later this
year.
Competent Person's statement
The information contained in this announcement that relates to
exploration activities is based upon information compiled by Evan
Kirby, Non-Executive Director of Europa Metals. Dr Kirby is a
Fellow of the Southern African Institute for Mining and Metallurgy
and has sufficient experience which is relevant to the style of
mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to the
activity being undertaken to qualify as a Competent Person as
defined in the December 2012 edition of the "Australasian Code for
Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore
Reserves" (JORC Code). Dr Kirby consents to the inclusion in this
announcement of the matters based upon the information in the form
and context in which it appears.
For further information on the Company, please visit
www.europametals.com or contact:
Europa Metals Ltd
Dan Smith, Non-Executive Director and Company Secretary
(Australia)
T: +61 417 978 955
Myles Campion, Executive Chairman and acting CEO (UK)
T: +44 (0)20 3289 9923
Strand Hanson Limited (Nominated Adviser)
Rory Murphy/Matthew Chandler
T: +44 (0)20 7409 3494
WH Ireland Limited (Broker)
Harry Ansell/Dan Bristowe/Katy Mitchell/Sarah Mather
T: +44 (0)20 7220 1666
Questco Corporate Advisory Proprietary Limited (JSE Sponsor)
Sharon Owens
T: +27 (11) 011 9212
The information contained within this announcement is deemed by
the Company to constitute inside information as stipulated under
the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) No. 596/2014 as it forms part of
United Kingdom domestic law by virtue of the European Union
(Withdrawal) Act 2018, as amended .
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