Caprice Resources (ASX:CRS) confirms the Vadrians deposit at its Island Gold Project in Western Australia is “highly amenable” to conventional gravity and carbon-in-leach (CIL) processing, based on metallurgical testwork.
The company engaged JT Metallurgical Services to undertake initial metallurgical testing on a composite reverse circulation (RC) sample from the Vadrians deposit.
The composite returned ‘excellent’ overall gold recoveries of up to 94% at a normal grind size with rapid leach kinetics, with ‘good’ recoveries of 92% still present at a coarser grind size.
It also delivered a ‘high’ free gold component, with gravity gold recoveries exceeding 33%. This supports the potential for a simple, low-cost processing route.
Managing Director Luke Cox describes the achievement as an “excellent metallurgical outcome”.
“The master composite was designed to represent a future underground mining panel within the high-grade Vadrians domain, providing an assessment of potential processing performance,” Cox says.
The testwork program evaluated head grade characteristics, gravity recovery potential, and CIL performance, using RC chip samples from three drill holes within the fresh ore domain of the Vadrians deposit.
According to Cox, the next phase of metallurgical testwork will focus on composite samples representing medium and lower-grade mineralisation.
“These composites are anticipated to contain lower sulphide concentrations than the high-grade composite tested to date, which may further improve leach kinetics, reduce reagent consumption, and enhance overall processing performance,” Cox says.
“These results support our view that Island is developing into a significant high-grade gold system with the potential to deliver strong metallurgical performance alongside the exceptional drilling results being generated across the project.”
Meanwhile, the company is in the advanced stages of planning the near-term program for follow-up metallurgical testwork, which will aim to test composites to represent potential mill feed.
It will likewise include additional tests that are required for third-party mill assessment.
Caprice Resources is a gold and base metals exploration company focused on advancing its flagship Island Gold Project in the Murchison goldfields of Western Australia towards a maiden mineral resource estimate.
Write to Paula Fabe at Mining.com.au
Images: Caprice Resources
