Nova Minerals (ASX:NVA) has reported bench-scale flotation testing on its Korbel deposit has achieved gold recoveries exceeding 95% while producing concentrates up to 26.70 grams per tonne gold.
The company says the coarse particle flotation results have the potential to significantly improve the project’s economics, with ‘low-grade’ ore delivering a ‘strong’ flotation response at 250 micrometres or finer grind sizes.
Testing on composite samples averaging 0.39–0.42 g/t gold produced concentrate grades ranging from 14.70–26.70 g/t gold with mass pulls of only 2%–3%, meaning a 97%–98% reduction in volume going to downstream processing.
“These improvements could significantly enhance the project’s overall economics and increase our ability to profitably recover gold from lower-grade material across the bulk-tonnage Korbel deposit,” CEO Christopher Gerteisen says.
The flotation testing forms part of Nova’s ongoing Pre-Feasibility Study (PFS) level metallurgical testwork program.
The company says the application of the technology to its 1,040-million-tonne Korbel resource, grading 0.30 g/t gold, could enhance PFS outcomes by upgrading ‘low-grade’ ore and reducing processing intensity.
Results showed optimal performance at grind sizes between 75–250 micrometres, with gold recovery dropping to 83.60% at 500 micrometres and 41.60% at 1,000 micrometres.
Further Korbel CIL testwork and coarse particle flotation studies are underway to refine the flowsheet and optimise plant design and configuration.
Nova Minerals’ Estelle project hosts a total JORC-compliant resource of 1,102 million tonnes (Mt) grading 0.30 g/t gold, equating to 9.89 million ounces across its RPM and Korbel deposits.
The Korbel resource comprises 1,040Mt @ 0.30 g/t gold containing 8.65 million ounces.
Write to JC Villarba at Mining.com.au
Images: Nova Minerals
