TIDMXTR
RNS Number : 6536G
Xtract Resources plc
20 July 2023
For immediate release
20 July 2023
Xtract Resources Plc
("Xtract" or the "Company")
Bushranger Pre-Concentration Test Results
The Board of Xtract Resources Plc ("Xtract" or the "Company") is
pleased to announce the results from a study to determine the
applicability of the "TOMRA" method to pre-concentrate copper-gold
mineralisation from the Racecourse Mineral Resource on the
Bushranger Copper-Gold Project ("Project") in central New South
Wales, Australia.
Highlights
-- Completion of initial metallurgical test work with
pre-concentration ore sorting of Racecourse samples using "TOMRA"
ore sorting technology involving X-Ray Transmission and machine
learning to sort mineralisation into a pre-concentrated ore product
and waste.
-- All samples processed with TOMRA achieved upgrades to the
copper content of the pre-concentrated material, with results in
recovery varying depending on the quantity of sulphide in each
sample.
-- A higher-grade sample assaying 0.56% Cu upgraded well with
TOMRA treatment however with low metal recovery due to higher
metals content in waste fractions, suggesting that
pre-concentration may not be beneficial for higher-grade ore.
-- Excluding the higher-grade sample, the average input grade of
typical grade copper-gold mineralisation was 0.23% Cu, which was
upgraded to 0.35% Cu, giving a grade uplift of 52%.
-- The average mass yield was 36%, indicating that 64% of the
original mass of the samples was rejected into the waste product,
suggesting that ore sorting has the ability to increase the ore
grade whilst reducing the mass to be treated.
-- Pre-concentration results for gold also showed a grade uplift
using the TOMRA system, however the results are of limited
significance to the overall project.
-- TOMRA recommended additional testing on different sample
material, particularly higher-grade material to gauge amenability
to ore sorting.
-- Xtract has engaged Optimal Mining Solutions (Pty) Ltd of
Australia ("Optimal Mining") to incorporate the most recent TOMRA
results into an updated economic model for the overall Bushranger
Project.
Colin Bird, Executive Chairman said: "We are pleased with the
results from the TOMRA pre-concentration study which demonstrate
that we could achieve significant upgrades to copper mineralisation
in the pre-concentrated product, while rejecting a lot of the
initial material into waste. The higher-grade sample did not
benefit from ore sorting suggesting that the first 4 to 5 years of
open pit development when grades are significantly higher than the
Project average grade may not require pre-concentration.
The continuing economic study by independent consultants Optimal
Mining will model the impact of TOMRA pre-concentration on the
overall economics of the Project, while we also consider other
pre-concentration routes for Bushranger ore and we look forward to
releasing an updated economic model for the Bushranger
Project."
Bushranger Project TOMRA Pre-Concentration Study
Following conclusion of the Phase 2 drilling programme on the
Bushranger Copper-Gold Project in central New South Wales,
Australia, and the finalisation of the upgraded Mineral Resource
for the Racecourse Prospect, Xtract undertook pre-concentration
test work on five composite samples from four drill holes.
Pre-concentration of mineralisation reduces the amount of material
needed to be milled and placed through a flotation processing plan,
which in turn can reduce pre-production capital and operating
costs, with subsequent improvements in the overall economic
performance of a project.
Xtract engaged TOMRA Sorting Solutions ("TOMRA") of Sydney,
Australia, to undertake the pre-concentration test work on the five
samples. Data was collecting using TOMRA's COM X-Ray Transmission
("XRT") system. The COM XRT system detects mineralised particles
and then sorts the material into a pre-concentrated product and
waste using amplified mechanical, hydraulic or pneumatic processes.
The sorter is set up / trained using images taken of the samples.
The images are then analysed using proprietary TOMRA image
processing software. Based upon the images sorting task specific
algorithms are then developed and applied to sorting the
mineralised material.
The Racecourse Prospect samples were submitted for TOMRA
pre-concentration test work as detailed in Table 1.
Table 1 - Bushranger Prospect Drill Samples Submitted for TOMRA
Analysis
Run Drill Hole From (m) To (m) Interval Cu%
(m)
1 BRDD_21_036 61.00 89.00 28.00 0.20
-------------- --------- ------- --------- -----
2 BRDD_21_010 180.00 198.00 18.00 0.24
-------------- --------- ------- --------- -----
3 BRDD_21_022 290.00 308.00 18.00 0.25
-------------- --------- ------- --------- -----
4 BRDD_21_021_B 227.00 243.00 16.00 0.56
-------------- --------- ------- --------- -----
5 BRDD_21_021_A 173.00 187.00 14.00 0.21
-------------- --------- ------- --------- -----
For the training of the XRT sorter, samples were exposed to high
energy X-rays, which project an image onto a sensor. The X-ray
sensor signal depends on atomic density and material thickness and
gives information on the inner composition of the particles. By
combining two energy levels simultaneously, it is possible to
differentiate particles by their atomic densities and then separate
material into a pre-concentrated product and waste.
The results of the TOMRA pre-concentration are given in Table
2.
Table 2 - Bushranger Prospect Drill Samples Results of TOMRA
Analysis
Avg. (excl.
high grade
Run Number 1 2 3 4 5 Avg. run 4)
Cu Grade of
Original Sample
(Cu%) 0.20 0.24 0.25 0.56 0.21 0.29 0.23
------ ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ------------
Back Calc.
Original Grade
(Cu%)* 0.15 0.26 0.32 0.52 0.20 0.29 0.23
------ ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ------------
Product Grade
(Cu%) following
Pre-Conc. 0.35 0.35 0.41 0.94 0.30 0.47 0.35
------ ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ------------
Waste Grade
(Cu%) 0.067 0.20 0.23 0.50 0.16 0.23 0.16
------ ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ------------
Original Mass
(Kg) 22.5 32.7 10.5 13.7 11.9 18.3 19.4
------ ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ------------
Pre-Conc. Product
Mass (Kg) 7.1 12.2 5.1 0.7 3.3 5.68 6.9
------ ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ------------
Waste Mass
(Kg) 15.4 20.5 5.4 13 8.6 12.6 12.5
------ ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ------------
Original Contained
Cu (kg) 3.4 8.5 3.4 7.1 2.4 5.0 4.4
------ ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ------------
Pre-Conc. Product
Contained Cu
(kg) 2.4 4.2 2.1 0.66 1.0 2.1 2.4
------ ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ------------
Mass Yield
(%) 31.6 37.3 48.6 5.1 27.7 30.0 36.3
------ ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ------------
Metal Recovery
(%) 72.6 49.6 62.1 9.3 32 45.1 54
------ ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ------------
*Back calculation of initial Cu grade from final product for
mass balance purposes
Table 2 details the masses and Cu assays for the
pre-concentrated materials produced from this set of test work, as
well as the back-calculated initial sample copper grades. The
back-calculated copper grades are slightly different to the
original copper grades as detailed in Table 1, due to the natural
variability of the copper mineralisation.
The primary sorting task was to produce a high-grade product
fraction by way of sulphide classification and ejection in a single
stage for each sample. All runs conducted for this set of test work
were "Dual-Energy" XRT runs. This form of processing is designed to
classify and eject relatively high-density sulphides away from the
relatively low-density host-rock. All samples were screened to a
20-40mm particle size with the exception of Run 1 (BRDD21_010_Comp)
which was run at 25-75mm.
All five samples processed with TOMRA achieved upgrades to the
copper and gold content of the pre-concentrated ore, while
rejecting significant volumes of waste material, with one higher
grade sample (Run 4) being an outlier. Excluding the outlier, the
average original grade of the four samples of copper-gold
mineralisation was 0.23% Cu, while the average grade of the
pre-concentrated mineralisation was 0.35% Cu, which shows a grade
uplift of 52%. The average mass yield was 36%, meaning that 64% of
the original mass of the sample was rejected into the waste
product, suggesting that it will be possible to greatly reduce the
volume of material needed to be processed through the milling and
floatation circuits of a processing plant.
The TOMRA pre-concentration results do exhibit a significant
amount of variability depending on the quantity of sulphides in the
original composite drill core samples. The outlier was Run 4, which
had the highest original feed grade material (0.52% Cu), achieved
the highest sorted product grade (0.94% Cu), but in a very low mass
(mass yield of 5.1%). This suggests that higher-grade material may
not benefit from ore sorting to the same extent as the more typical
deposit grades and would be more suited to direct processing.
The results overall show the potential of the TOMRA system to
significantly increase the copper grade into a pre-concentrated
product while rejecting potentially over 50% of the original rock
mass into waste. The variability of the results indicate that more
samples would need to be tested in order to determine an accurate
average overall effect for TOMRA pre-concentration.
The pre-concentration results are sufficiently positive for the
effects of TOMRA pre-concentration to be incorporated into the
overall financial model for the Bushranger Project. Consequently,
Xtract has engaged Optimal Mining Solutions (Pty) Ltd of Australia
("Optimal Mining") to incorporate the TOMRA results into an updated
economic model for the overall Bushranger Project.
Further information is available from the Company's website
which details the company's project portfolio as well as a copy of
this announcement: www.xtractresources.com
The information contained within this announcement is deemed by
the Company to constitute inside information as stipulated under
the Market Abuse Regulations (EU) No. 596/2014 as it forms part of
UK Domestic Law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act
2018 ("UK MAR").
The person who arranged for the release of this announcement on
behalf of the Company was Colin Bird, Executive Chairman and
Director.
Enquiries :
Xtract Resources Plc Colin Bird, +44 (0)20 3416 6471
Executive Chairman www.xtractresources.com
Beaumont Cornish Limited Roland Cornish +44 (0)207628 3369
Nominated Adviser Michael Cornish www.beaumontcornish.co.uk
and Joint Broker Felicity Geidt
Novum Securities Limited Jon Belliss +44 (0) 207 399 9427
Joint Broker Colin Rowbury www.novumsecurities.com
Qualified Person
In accordance with AIM Note for Mining and Oil & Gas
Companies, June 2009 ("Guidance Note"), Colin Bird, CC.ENG, FIMMM,
South African and UK Certified Mine Manager and Director of Xtract
Resources plc, with more than 40 years' experience mainly in hard
rock mining, is the qualified person as defined in the Guidance
Note of the London Stock Exchange, who has reviewed the technical
information contained in this press release.
TECHNICAL GLOSSARY
The following is a summary of technical terms:
"Cu" Copper
"mineralisation" Process of formation and concentration of
elements and their chemical compounds within
a mass or body of rock
ENDS
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