Power Metallic Reports Lion Zone Recoveries of 98.9% Copper, 93.9% Palladium, 96.8% Platinum, 85% Gold and 88.9% Silver from Initial Metallurgical Results as Reported by SGS Canada Inc.
As previously reported (initiation of metallurgical work news release
The Lion deposit has two zones of mineralization defined by drilling, consisting of a High-Grade zone (HG) and a
Initial sulphide flotation concentration tests by SGS showed similar recovery characteristics for all 3 composites, and a decision was made by SGS to carry out a Locked Cycle Test (LCT) on the Blended Composite as representative of run-of-mine feed for conventional sulphide flotation. The LCT test is a laboratory scale flowsheet of a potential future mill circuit for the Lion deposit.
Results of the LCT showed abnormally high recovery (Table 1) of Cu, PGEs, Ag, and Au, with very good recovery of Ni. SGS's comment on the LCT stated:
"The test work, performed by
The mineralization demonstrated a strong flotation response, with copper rougher recoveries ranging from 98–99%. Cleaner flotation upgraded the material to approximately 25% Cu, while precious metals consistently reported to the concentrate. Locked-cycle flotation testing produced a high-grade concentrate containing 25.8% Cu, 1.2% Ni, 4.83 g/t Au, 41.4 g/t Pd, 23.4 g/t Pt, and 159 g/t Ag, with robust recoveries for Cu (98.9%), Pd (93.9%), Pt (96.8%), and Ag (88.9%).
These results suggest potential opportunities for the transformation of the concentrate into value-added products, including advanced materials for various economic sectors such as battery and energy storage, electrification, clean energy, and advanced manufacturing."
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1 |
About SGS: SGS is the world's leading testing, inspection and certification company. SGS is recognized as the global benchmark for quality and integrity. With more than 99,500 employees, SGS operates a network of over 2,500 labs and business facilities combining the precision and accuracy that define Swiss companies to help organizations achieve the highest standards of quality, compliance and sustainability. |
|
Element |
Feed Grade |
Concentrate |
Recovery |
|
Cu |
3.42 % |
25.80 % |
98.9 |
|
Ni |
0.20 % |
1.20 % |
77.1 |
|
Au |
0.70 g/t |
4.83 g/t |
85.0 |
|
Pd |
5.37 g/t |
41.4 g/t |
93.9 |
|
Pt |
2.90 g/t |
23.4 g/t |
96.8 |
|
Ag |
24.9 g/t |
159 g/t |
88.9 |
Table 1 Locked-Cycle Test on Lion Zone Blended Composite
Feed Grade, Concentrate Grade, and Recovery Summary
The abnormally high recoveries in this initial LCT confirms previous statements made by Power Metallic, based on mineralogical studies of metal deportment, that the Lion zone would be amenable to conventional sulphide concentration. These results exceed the expectations of Power Metallic's technical team. Previous reporting by Power Metallic on CuEqRec percent of in-situ intersection grades had calculated an 80% recovery of all metals. These results indicate those CuEqRec percent values greatly underestimated recoveries. Of added importance statements by SGS (see quote above) on the potential for added value processing open the door to even greater potential returns from treatment of Lion zone mineralization.
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|
|
Head Grade |
Old Recovered Grade |
Old Recovered CuEqRec |
Met Recovered Grade |
Met Recovered CuEQRec |
|
|
|
|||||
|
Cu - Copper |
% |
3.42 % |
2.74 % |
2.74 % |
3.38 % |
3.38 % |
|
Ni - Nickel |
% |
0.20 % |
0.16 % |
0.40 % |
0.15 % |
0.39 % |
|
Au - Gold |
g/t |
0.7 |
0.56 |
0.48 % |
0.60 |
0.51 % |
|
Pd - Palladium |
g/t |
5.37 |
4.30 |
1.90 % |
5.04 |
2.23 % |
|
Pt - Platinum |
g/t |
2.9 |
2.32 |
0.85 % |
2.81 |
1.02 % |
|
Ag - Silver |
g/t |
24.9 |
19.92 |
0.20 % |
22.14 |
0.23 % |
|
Total |
|
|
|
6.57 % |
|
7.76 % |
Table 2 – Impact of Old Recovery assumptions vs Met Recovery2,3
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2 |
Previously Used (Old) Copper Equivalent Rec Calculation (CuEqRec2) |
Old CuEqRec represented CuEq calculated based on the following metal prices (USD): 2,360.15 $/oz Au, 27.98 $/oz Ag, 1,215.00 $/oz Pd, 1000.00 $/oz Pt, 4.00 $/lb Cu, 10.00 $/lb Ni and 22.50 $/lb Co., and a recovery grade of 80% for all commodities, consistent with comparable peers.
|
3 |
Current Copper Equivalent Rec Calculation (CuEqRec3) |
Current CuEqRec will be calculated based on the following metal prices and recoveries (USD): 2,360.15 $/oz Au @ 85% Rec; 27.98 $/oz Ag @ 88.9% Rec; 1,215 $/oz Pd @ 93.9% Rec; 1,000 $/oz Pt @ 96.8% Rec; 4.00 $/lb Cu @ 98.9% Rec; 10.00 $/lb Ni @ 77.1% Rec, based on recoveries consistent with initial metallurgical testing.
Table 2 above provides the change in recovered metal grade from head grade ore based on the metallurgy result achieved by SGS's LCT. The Met Recovered CuEQRec shows a 18.2% improvement when compared to the Old Recovered CuEQRec. Using our currently assumed prices for commodities we see CuEQRec contribution from base metals (copper, nickel) at 49% and 51% for precious metals (platinum, palladium, gold, silver). Go forward in future assay results Power Metallic will use the SGS's LCT recovery rates for copper equivalent assumptions.
Moving forward, Power Metallic will complete these initial conventional concentration test results and will provide a final report once this work is completed. Power Metallic is now examining the options for a Phase 2 study to investigate the creation of "value-added products" as suggested by SGS.
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About
Power Metallic is a Canadian exploration company focused on advancing the Nisk Project Area (Nisk–Lion–Tiger)—a high–grade Copper–PGE, Nickel, gold and silver system—toward Canada's next polymetallic mine.
On
Power Metallic is expanding mineralization at the Nisk and Lion discovery zones, evaluating the Tiger target, and exploring the enlarged land package through successive drill programs.
Beyond the Nisk Project Area, Power Metallic indirectly has an interest in significant land packages in
It also owns 100% of Power Metallic Arabia which owns 100% interest in the Jabul Baudan exploration license in The Kingdon of
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