(Vancouver, December 10, 2015) Balmoral Resources Ltd. (“Balmoral” or the “Company”) (TSX: BAR; OTCQX: BALMF) today announced that gold recoveries of 91.4% and silver recoveries of 80.2% have been achieved in preliminary metallurgical testing conducted on a composite sample comprised of material from the four principal gold bearing zones located along the Bug Lake Trend on the Company’s Martiniere Property in Quebec. Results were achieved by standard flotation followed by cyanide leaching of the flotation concentrate and tails.
The Bug Lake Composite sample was collected from previously drilled core holes. It was dominantly comprised of material from the Lower Bug Lake Zone, but included representative material from the Hanging Wall, Upper Bug Lake and Footwall Zones. The average assayed head grade for the Bug Lake Composite was 6.3 g/t gold and 7.1 g/t silver. The current metallurgical testing was performed on behalf of the Company by Blue Coast Research Ltd. of Parksville, British Columbia following an initial stage of work conducted by SGS Minerals in Lakefield, Ontario.
“Today’s results provide a very positive start to the metallurgical work on the Bug Lake Zones, indicating plus 90% gold recoveries” said Darin Wagner, President and CEO of Balmoral. “The preliminary work suggests there are no concerns regarding the blending of the multiple zones located along the Trend and indicates some room to potentially increase recoveries with more detailed testing now that general metallurgical parameters have been established. The very fast leach kinetics, potential to work with a relatively coarse grind, and lack of deleterious elements were additional positives from the testing.”
Metallurgical Testing
Initial metallurgical testing consisted of direct cyanidation of the Bug Lake Composite using a series of grind sizes which would be typical of the industry. Direct cyanidation achieved gold recoveries of 72 to 81%, and silver recoveries ranging from 65 to 73%. In general, finer-grind sizes resulted in higher recoveries. Gravity recoveries ranged from 7.3% to 24.3% for gold, again increasing at finer grind sizes. Gravity recovery followed by cyanidation of the gravity tails achieved virtually identical results to direct “whole ore” cyanidation.
Blue Coast conducted five flotation tests on the Bug Lake Composite; three to establish the optimal grind size and two to create concentrates for leaching. All three grind sizes tested produced similar gold (97%) and silver (92-93%) recoveries to concentrate. The coarsest grind - 127 microns - was selected for the leaching tests.
Testing included separate and combined leaching of the flotation concentrate (after fine regrinding) and tails. Optimal recoveries were achieved from separate leaching of the flotation concentrate and tails. The table below summarizes the metallurgical balance for this scenario.
Metallurgical Balance from Separate Concentrate and Tails Leach Option
|
Mass % |
Gold % |
Silver % |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Feed | 100 | 100 | 100 |
| Flotation concentrate | 20.4 | 96.1 | 92.5 |
| Concentrate leach extraction | n/a | 88.9 | 74 |
| Concentrate leach residue | 20.4 | 7.2 | 18.5 |
| Flotation Tails | 79.7 | 3.9 | 7.5 |
| Tails leach extraction | n/a | 2.5 | 6.2 |
| Tails leach residue | 79.7 | 1.4 | 1.3 |
| Combined circuit extraction | n/a | 91.4 | 80.2 |
| Extraction rates | Gold, % | Silver, % | |
| Conc leach extraction rate | 92.5 | 80 | |
| Tails leach extraction rate | 65 | 83 | |
- Note: rounding errors may lead to some numbers adding to over 100%
Leach testing of the flotation concentrate displayed very rapid kinetics with gold extraction peaking after only 3-5 hours. In general, cyanide consumptions during both the concentrate and tailings leach were very low and lime consumptions were also modest given the precious metal content in each product.
Quality Control
The technical information disclosed herein was prepared under the supervision of qualified person Mr. Chris Martin (C. Eng.) of Blue Coast Research Ltd. Mr. Martin has supervised the metallurgical work reported on and has reviewed and approved the technical disclosure contained in this news release with respect to such work. Mr. Darin Wagner (P.Geo.), President and CEO of the Company, qualified person for the Company, supervised the collection of the samples for metallurgical testing, reviewed the progress on the metallurgical testing on multiple occasions and has also reviewed and approved of the technical disclosure contained in this news release.
About Balmoral Resources Ltd. - www.balmoralresources.com
Balmoral is a Canadian-based discovery company focused on the delineation of high-grade gold and nickel-copper-PGE discoveries on its wholly owned, 700+ square kilometre Detour Trend Project in Quebec, Canada. With a philosophy of creating value through the drill bit and a focus on proven productive precious/base metal belts, Balmoral is following an established formula with a goal of maximizing shareholder value through discovery and definition of high-grade, Canadian base metal and gold assets.
On behalf of the board of directors of
BALMORAL RESOURCES LTD.
“Darin Wagner”
President and CEO
For further information contact:
John Foulkes, Vice-President, Corporate Development
Tel: (604) 638-5815 / Toll Free: (877) 838-3664
E-mail: [email protected]
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information (collectively, “forward looking statements”) within the meaning of applicable Canadian and United States securities laws. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein, including statements regarding the anticipated content, commencement, duration and cost of exploration programs, anticipated exploration program results, the discovery and delineation of mineral deposits/resources/reserves, the relationship between initial and final metallurgical results, the potential to increase recoveries with more detailed testing; the potential for individual metals to provide payable or valuable credits, the representative nature of the samples tested vs. the balance of the mineralized zone and business and financing plans and trends, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words such as: believe, expect, anticipate, intend, estimate, postulate and similar expressions or are those which, by their nature, refer to future events. Although the Company believes that such statements are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. The Company cautions investors that any forward-looking statements by the Company are not guarantees of future performance, and that actual results may differ materially from those in forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause actual events and results to differ materially from the Company’s expectations include those related to weather, equipment and staff availability; performance of third parties; risks related to the exploration stage of the Company’s projects; market fluctuations in prices for securities of exploration stage companies and in commodity prices; and uncertainties about the availability of additional financing; risks related to the Company’s ability to identify one or more economic deposits on the properties, and variations in the nature, quality and quantity of any mineral deposits that may be located on the properties; risks related to the Company’s ability to obtain any necessary permits, consents or authorizations required for its activities on the properties; and risks related to the Company’s ability to produce minerals from the properties successfully or profitably. Trading in the securities of the Company should be considered highly speculative. All of the Company’s public disclosure filings may be accessed via www.sedar.com and readers are urged to review these materials, including the latest technical reports filed with respect to the Company’s mineral properties.
This press release is not, and is not to be construed in any way as, an offer to buy or sell securities in the United States.
