Torque Metals Ltd (ASX:TOR) believes it has a first-class emerging gold camp at the Paris Project in Western Australia after independent sighter metallurgical testing conducted on samples from the Paris and Observation deposits returned gold recovery results described as "exceptional".
A total of 61 interval samples from three diamond holes at Paris and 22 samples from one hole at Observation were used in the testing managed by Independent Metallurgical Operations Ltd (IMO).
Cyanide leach testing produced overall gold recoveries of 96.7% from the composite calculated head grade of 5.57 g/t for Paris and 99.7% from composite calculated head grade of 2.35 g/t for Observation.
Meanwhile, gravity tests, conducted prior to the cyanide leaching, confirmed the presence of coarse gravity recoverable gold, accounting for 40.7% of the gold within the Paris composite and 39.9% of the gold within the Observation composite.
Torque views the results as extremely encouraging and point to the potential to recover the gold economically.
“Vindication”
“This first metallurgical characterisation of Torque’s Paris and Observation gold prospects is indeed vindication of the company’s view that it holds a first-class, emerging gold project,” Torque managing director Cristian Moreno said.
“Benefits from the inaugural diamond drill campaign, as initially revealed by assays and now reinforced by IMO’s metallurgical analysis, are being realised.
“Very high gold recoveries through standard cyanide leaching show the benign, free-milling mineralogy.
“That 40% of the gold is amenable to gravity recovery further exposes the quality of the deposits.
“These advances encourage the company that a quality mineral resource estimate can be delineated in H1 2024.”
Copper test
During testing, copper head grades were assayed to be 0.19% and 0.02% for the Paris and Observation composites, respectively, and did not impede the leaching performance.
Only 3.3% of copper contained in the Paris composite and 10.5% in the Observation composite was determined to be cyanide soluble and is unlikely to be detrimental to gold recovery via conventional cyanide leaching.
Further work
IMO has recommended that Torque carry out further testing, including oxide test, fresh and transitional material from Paris and Observation at high and low gold and copper grades as well as differing lithologies to assess the leaching performance throughout both deposits.
Other recommendations include:
- Conduct further cyanide leach tests in site water;
- If toll treatment is a likely processing option, conduct Acid Mind Drainage (AMD) test-work on representative samples of toll treatment parcels; and
- Conduct further comminution to further define and categorise the characteristics of the ore bodies.
Lithium focus
“Whilst our immediate focus remains on testing the lithium potential of the New Dawn Lithium Project, where we have recently commenced our maiden drilling, the company keeps advancing Penzance and Paris projects, and we are confident that with our ongoing in-house exploration efforts, we will further solidify our position in the gold and nickel sector,” Moreno added.
Initial core samples from the New Dawn diamond drill program have been dispatched to Bureau Veritas for assaying.