Taruga Minerals (ASX:TAR) reports preliminary metallurgical testwork confirms free-milling gold at its Weioko gold deposit within the East Normanby Gold Project in Papua New Guinea.
The testwork returned gold extraction rates of 92.6% from low-grade composite samples and 96.3% from ‘high-grade’ composite samples using conventional gravity separation and cyanide leaching methods.
The company says the results demonstrate consistent recoveries across the grade range tested.
Non-Executive Chairman Paul Cronin says the consistency of recoveries is significant for the project’s development potential.
“The number that matters most here is not only the 96.3% recovery, it is the fact that we achieved above 90% recovery at both high and low ends of a grade range,” Cronin says.
“That consistency suggests the Weioko system should respond predictably to a single conventional flowsheet rather than recovery being confined to isolated high-grade zones.”
The ‘high-grade’ composite sample included rock chip sample 702013, which assayed 99.45 grams per tonne gold. Silver extraction rates of 87.4% to 92.2% across both composites also add a potential second payable metal to the processing equation.
Meanwhile, multi-element analysis confirmed low levels of deleterious elements, including arsenic at 70 parts per million (ppm) to 90 ppm, sulphide sulphur at 0.02% to 0.90%, and copper at 78 ppm to 120 ppm.
Taruga, which holds a 12-month option to acquire 100% of the East Normanby Project, plans to commence maiden drilling at Weioko following the metallurgical results.
The company also intends to utilise core from the upcoming drill campaign to provide additional material for further metallurgical assessments, while continuing field exploration across the broader district.
Taruga Minerals is a mineral explorer with a district-scale gold-copper portfolio in Papua New Guinea.
Write to Paula Fabe at Mining.com.au
Images: Mining.com.au
