Carnavale Resources Ltd (ASX:CAV) has delivered initial metallurgical test work results described as "outstanding" from the McTavish East prospect within the Kookynie Gold Project, where it is working to establish a quality high-grade gold resource.
The conventional leach test work indicates the potential of excellent gold recoveries from traditional cyanide leaching processes, yielding recoveries of between 97% and 99%.
Samples for the initial leach test work program were selected from oxide and fresh rock material collected from four separate high-grade gold intersections defined by aircore drilling in September 2022 and reverse circulation (RC) drilling in May 2023.
Sixteen 200-250 gram ore grade samples were leach tested for 24 hours by ALS laboratories in Perth. Recoveries in the oxide were 99% and were between 97% and 99% in the fresh rock.
The first-pass metallurgical recoveries give a good indication as to what can be expected from the oxidised and fresh rock areas of the McTavish East Prospect at Kookynie.
The company has planned further metallurgical test work to bolster these results. This will include further leach test work and gravity separation techniques, enhancing the processing options and potentially reducing operating costs.
RC drilling results
The McTavish East deposit is a new discovery by Carnavale and has not been previously exploited. The deposit lies beneath a thin layer of cover consisting of transported material close to surface allowing for easy development.
Earlier this month, Carnavale completed an aggressive program of RC drilling with results expected shortly.
The 29-hole, 5,364-metre program targeted infill and down dip extensions of the high-grade plunging shoots at McTavish East Prospect. The program followed up on excellent, extensional high-grade gold results from previous RC drilling in fresh rock that identified high-grade gold shoots.
The style of mineralisation, grade and scale at McTavish East shows growing similarities to the previously mined historic Cosmopolitan Gold Mine nearby.
Carnavale’s goal at Kookynie is to establish a quality high-grade gold resource, of a similar size to the Cosmopolitan mine, that can be trucked and processed at a nearby processing plant.