TIDMPXC
RNS Number : 2903R
Phoenix Copper Limited
29 June 2020
Phoenix Copper Limited / Ticker: PXC / Sector: Mining
29 June 2020
Phoenix Copper Limited
("Phoenix" or the "Company")
Empire Mine gold recoveries exceed 97% using environmentally
friendly reagent
Phoenix Copper Ltd (AIM: PXC, OTCQX: PXCLF), the AIM quoted
North American focused base and precious metals company, is pleased
to announce the results of the initial metallurgical test work for
the recovery of precious metals occurring in the Empire Mine
deposit. The detailed metallurgical report can be found at
www.phoenixcopperlimited.com/research.
Highlights
-- Precious metals tests performed on samples from the Empire
open pit deposit using non-toxic ammonium thiosulfate ("ATS")
reagent resulted in high gold recoveries of 97.8% and 97.7%, and
silver recoveries of 69.8% and 78.2%, respectively
-- ATS reagent consumption comparable to sodium cyanide in back-to-back bench scale tests
-- This development presents the opportunity to bring forward
precious metals production as there would no longer be the
requirement to permit a cyanide operation
-- Pilot scale test plant now being prepared at the laboratory
in Salt Lake City before commencing small scale pilot testing at
Empire
-- RC drill rig mobilised for extensional drilling of the gold
and silver zones at Empire with the intent of adding additional
gold and silver to the open pit resource
-- Diamond drilling programme at the Red Star silver-lead deposit well underway
Ryan McDermott, Chief Executive Officer, commented: "As part of
the ongoing work programme at the Empire Mine open pit, a 400-pound
metallurgical sample with a head-grade of 12.8 g/ton gold was
collected from surficial outcrops near a known channel sample
location that assayed 36 g/ton gold, and submitted for precious
metal recovery testing at AuRIC Laboratories in Salt Lake City,
Utah ("AuRIC"). AuRIC was instructed to test non-cyanide leaching
reagents to determine how precious metal recoveries would compare
to sodium cyanide.
I am pleased to announce that the initial test results show that
the non-cyanide reagent ammonium thiosulfate performed equally as
well as sodium cyanide in both precious metal recovery and reagent
consumption. Multiple lab and bench-scale tests were performed on
-80 mesh samples, with the larger volume bench scale tests
recovering more than 97% gold and more than 67% silver after 4
hours of leaching, with ATS consumption of approximately 4%.
In May this year, we published an updated resource for the
Empire Mine, which included a 56% increase in gold ounces and a 13%
increase in silver ounces from the previous May 2019 resource
estimate. We had anticipated that the precious metal ounces
associated with the Empire oxide-copper would be processed using
cyanide leach at sometime after the primary copper leaching due
mostly to the time frame necessary for permitting a sodium cyanide
operation. That may very well have changed with the receipt of
these latest metallurgical results.
The use of ATS, which is much less industrially utilized in the
US, but is praised for its non-toxic, environmental friendly, and
low cost when compared to sodium cyanide, would allow us to time
the processing of the Empire precious metals in parallel with the
base metals given that we do not need to enter into a lengthy
permitting process for the cyanide operation. This would present a
clear advantage in a market with rising gold and silver prices, and
bring forward the timing of precious metal production which will
make the project far more robust economically. The testing and use
of sodium cyanide alternatives is consistent with our ESG
philosophies and we will continue to work toward the most
environmentally responsible practices possible.
The next step for the Phoenix team will be the preparation of a
pilot scale test plant sited in the AuRIC Laboratory in Salt Lake
City and scaled to run multiple tonnage leach samples from various
locations around the Empire open pit deposit using the ATS reagent.
The laboratory pilot testing will be followed by pilot scale
testing on the project site over the coming months.
Finally, Phoenix has also mobilized a reverse-circulation drill
rig that is currently drilling extensions to the existing gold and
silver resources with the intent of adding additional resource, as
well as upgrading the inferred tonnes to the measured and indicated
categories. As we have stated in the past, the evaluation of the
Empire deposit continues to move forward. The recent resource
upgrade and the recent initial metallurgical test results will
steer the focus as we move forward.
At the Red Star silver-lead deposit HQ-diamond drilling is now
well underway. A complete Red Star project update will be provided
in the next couple of weeks."
Empire Mine - Gold and Silver Resource and Metallurgical
Recovery
In May 2020, an updated NI43-101 compliant resource was
completed by Hardrock Consulting (HRC) and reported for the
polymetallic Empire Mine open-pit oxide deposit. The updated
resource contained measured, indicated, and inferred metal content
of 130,000 tonnes of copper, 342,000 ounces of gold, 9.5 million
ounces of silver and 50,550 tonnes of zinc. The May resource showed
an increase in all metals, but particularly gold and silver, which
increased 56% and 13%, respectively, from the previous May 2019
resource. Resource report details can be found on the Company's
website at www.phoenixcopperlimited.com/news and
www.phoenixcopperlimited.com/research.
As part of the Company's ongoing Empire Mine work programme,
samples amounting to 400 pounds were collected from outcrops near
the location of channel samples analysed in 2018. The head-grade of
the 400-pound sample assayed at 12.8 g/ton gold. The sample was
submitted to AuRIC Metallurgical Laboratories in Salt Lake City,
Utah for cyanide-alternative laboratory and bench scale
agitated-tank leach testing.
AuRIC performed 4 laboratory scale amenability tests and 2 bench
scale extraction tests using sodium cyanide lixiviant, and 4
laboratory scale amenability tests and 2 bench scale extraction
tests using the non-toxic ammonium thiosulfate lixiviant, on splits
from the primary sample. The results of this test work indicate
that ATS works equally as well as sodium cyanide on both the
laboratory scale samples (30g to 250g) and the bench scale samples
(3,000g). Gold recovery using ATS on the 2 bench samples resulted
in 97.8% and 97.7%, and silver recovery was 69.8% and 78.2% after 6
hours of leaching. ATS reagent consumption for both tests was 4.32%
and 4.42%, respectively. Tables 1 and 2 show the results of ATS
6-hour leach testing.
By comparison, the sodium cyanide gold recoveries on splits of
the same sample were 97.8% and 97.7%, and silver recoveries of
68.1% and 65.5% following 6 hours of leach time. The sodium cyanide
reagent consumption for both tests was 6.00%. A detailed laboratory
report titled "Laboratory and Bench Scale Metallurgical Extraction
Tests Performed Using Sodium Cyanide and Ammonium Thiosulfate
Leaches on a Composite Sample of Magnetite Ore from the Empire
Mine, Custer CO, ID" can be viewed on the Company's website at
www.phoenixcopperlimited.com/research .
Table 1 - 3,000-gram Bench Scale Test Results using Ammonium
Thiosulfate - Run 1
Test 4894C
Au (g/ton) Ag (g/ton)
12.78 13.43
------- ------- ------ --------- --------------- --------------
Free ATS Solution
Time ATS Cons. Volume
(h) (g/L) % pH (mL) g/ton % Rec g/ton % Rec
------- ------- ------ --------- ------- ------ ------ ------
0 14.82 - 10.20 4,500 0.000 0.000 0.0
------- ------- ------ --------- ------- ------ ------ ------
1 14.38 2.97 10.20 4,500 10.575 82.7 5.625 41.9
------- ------- ------ --------- ------- ------ ------ ------
2 14.30 3.51 10.18 4,500 11.820 92.5 6.173 46.0
------- ------- ------ --------- ------- ------ ------ ------
3 14.22 4.05 10.14 4,500 12.225 95.7 8.888 66.2
------- ------- ------ --------- ------- ------ ------ ------
4 14.20 4.18 10.14 4,500 12.480 97.7 9.113 67.9
------- ------- ------ --------- ------- ------ ------ ------
5 14.18 4.32 10.11 4,500 12.450 97.4 9.366 69.7
------- ------- ------ --------- ------- ------ ------ ------
6 14.18 4.32 10.06 4,500 12.495 97.8 9.374 69.8
------- ------- ------ --------- ------- ------ ------ ------
Table 2 - 3,000-gram Bench Scale Test Results using Ammonium
Thiosulfate - Run 2
Test 4899C
Au (g/ton) Ag (g/ton)
12.78 13.43
----- ------- ------- ------ --------- --------------- ---------------
Free ATS Solution
Time ATS Cons. Volume
(h) (g/L) % pH (mL) g/ton % Rec g/ton % Rec
----- ------- ------- ------ --------- ------- ------ ------- ------
0 29.64 - 10.20 4,500 0.000 0.000 0.0
------- ------- ------ --------- ------- ------ ------- ------
1 29.00 2.16 10.20 4,500 10.650 83.3 6.236 46.4
------- ------- ------ --------- ------- ------ ------- ------
2 28.85 2.67 10.20 4,500 11.925 93.3 8.543 63.6
------- ------- ------ --------- ------- ------ ------- ------
3 28.65 3.34 10.18 4,500 12.270 96.0 10.193 75.9
------- ------- ------ --------- ------- ------ ------- ------
4 28.47 3.95 10.18 4,500 12.480 97.7 10.358 77.1
------- ------- ------ --------- ------- ------ ------- ------
5 28.37 4.28 10.19 4,500 12.492 97.7 10.500 78.2
------- ------- ------ --------- ------- ------ ------- ------
6 28.33 4.42 10.18 4,500 12.483 97.7 10.500 78.2
------- ------- ------ --------- ------- ------ ------- ------
Qualified Person
The information in this announcement has been reviewed by Roger
Turner A.C.S.M., M.Sc., M.I.M.M.M., C.Eng., Chief Technical Officer
and Director of the Company. Mr Turner is a graduate mining
engineer from the Camborne School of Mines with an MSc in Economic
Geology from Leicester University with more than 40 years'
experience in mine development, construction and operation and is a
qualified person under the AIM Rules. Mr Turner consents to the
inclusion of the information in the form and context in which they
appear.
Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance
Phoenix is committed to meeting and exceeding the environmental
standards required by law as a core value of the Company. The
baseline environmental data collected to date will be used for
furthering the permitting process, but as importantly, will be used
as the building blocks for the Company's future Environmental,
Social, and Corporate Governance (ESG) platform.
Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) Disclosure
Certain information contained in this announcement would have
been deemed inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of
Regulation (EU) No 596/2014 until the release of this
announcement.
Contacts
For further information please visit
www.phoenixcopperlimited.com or contact:
Phoenix Copper Ryan McDermott Tel: +1 208 954
Limited Dennis Thomas 7039
Richard Wilkins Tel: +44 7827
290 849
Tel: +44 7590
216 657
SP Angel David Hignell / Caroline Rowe Tel: +44 20 3470
(Nominated Adviser) 0470
----------------------------------- -----------------
Brandon Hill Capital Jonathan Evans / Oliver Stansfield Tel: +44 20 3463
(Joint Broker) 5000
----------------------------------- -----------------
WH Ireland (Joint Harry Ansell / Adam Pollock Tel: +44 207
Broker) / Katy Mitchell 2201666
----------------------------------- -----------------
Blytheweigh Tim Blythe / Camilla Horsfall Tel: +44 20 7138
(Financial PR) / Megan Ray 3204
----------------------------------- -----------------
Notes
Phoenix Copper Limited is a North American focused, base and
precious metal explorer and developer, which has carried out a
drilling programme and generated a copper, gold, silver and zinc
resource on which it is carrying out a feasibility study to bring
the historically producing Empire Mine in Idaho, USA, back into
production. It is also evaluating the silver and gold resources
around three other past producing mines within the 23 km(2) Empire
claims block as well as cobalt in two claims blocks north of Empire
in Idaho.
Phoenix's primary operations are focused near Mackay, Idaho in
the Alder Creek mining district. This district includes the
historical Empire, Horseshoe, White Knob and Blue Bird Mines, past
producers of copper, gold, silver, zinc, lead and tungsten from
underground mines in the first half of the twentieth century.
Additionally, the district includes Navarre Creek a Carlin-trend
gold discovery which hosts a 6.1 km gold strike length within a 9.8
km(2) area.
Phoenix acquired an 80% interest in the historical Empire Mine
property in 2017 and, based on a total of 320 drill holes, an oxide
resource was completed in late 2017. A NI 43-101 compliant PEA
(preliminary economic assessment) for an open pit heap leach
solvent extraction and electrowinning ("SX-EW") mine was completed
in April 2018. In 2018 a further 8,600 metres in 93 holes was
completed to upgrade the oxide resources, provide samples for
ongoing metallurgical test work, geotechnical and hydrological
studies and condemnation drilling for the heap leach pad site,
waste dump and plant site.
An updated NI 43-101 compliant resource was completed in early
May 2019, which was generated for a heap leach copper SX/EW
operation where only copper was recovered. A further updated NI
43-101 compliant resource was generated in May 2020 for all metals,
which resulted in an increase of measured and indicated resources
of +56% gold, +11% copper, +13% silver and +26% zinc. Present
contained metal in all NI 43-101 compliant categories of resources,
measured, indicated and inferred, stand at 343,249 ounces of gold,
129,923 tonnes of copper, 9,502,494 ounces of silver and 50,550
tonnes of zinc.
Since acquiring the Empire project, Phoenix has increased the
claim area from 818 acres to 5,717 acres, mainly to the northwest
and west, and in so doing has increased the potential for
additional oxide and sulphide copper resources, as well as the
potential for stand-alone gold and silver resources, along a strike
length of approximately 5.4 km towards the other brownfield mines
of the Horseshoe, White Knob and Blue Bird Mines now within the
property boundary. In particular, a new discovery at Red Star, 330
metres north west of the Empire Mine proposed open pit, has
revealed sulphide ore and from three shallow exploration drill
holes a NI 43-101 compliant maiden resource of 1.6 million silver
equivalent ounces was reported.
At Empire, it is estimated that less than 1% of the potential
ore system has been explored to date and, accordingly, there is
significant opportunity to increase the resource through phased
exploration.
More details on the Company, its assets and its objectives can
be found on PXC's website at www.phoenixcopperlimited.com .
This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the
London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct
Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United
Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution
of this information may apply. For further information, please
contact rns@lseg.com or visit www.rns.com.
END
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