PAGADIAN CITY (Mindanao Examiner / June 26, 2013) – TVI Pacific Inc. announced on Wednesday that its affiliate in the Philippines – TVI Resource Development Inc. – has established a pilot plant at its Canatuan mine site in Zamboanga del Norte province to carry out metallurgical test work on samples of the different types of mineralization at Balabag.
It said the establishment of a pilot plant marks another key step forward for the Balabag project in Zamboanga del Sur’s Bayog town, about 75 kilometers east-northeast of TVI’s Canatuan copper-zinc mine.
The Balabag epithermal gold and silver project is located within an area covering approximately 52 square kilometres (20 square miles).
The principal objectives of the pilot plant test work are to confirm the results obtained in previous laboratory cyanide leaching tests, optimize the metallurgical processing under an environment that more closely resembles actual operations, provide design parameters for engineering, and to start training personnel in operations and metallurgical process control.
Initial results from the first 30 tonnes of sample material grading 4.8 g/t Au and 212 g/t Ag indicated average overall recoveries of 93% for gold and 90% for silver after 36 hours leach time.
The sample material analysed represents different types of vein mineralization distributed throughout the deposit. The results to date validate Balabag test material’s amenability to leaching as determined from prior laboratory scale tests.
TVI said the results also demonstrate the effectiveness of carbon-in-leach over both carbon-in-pulp and Merrill-Crowe recovery processes in processing the test material.
The one metric ton-per-day pilot plant initially had been operated for 21 days simulating CIP plant operations. After some reconfiguration in the circuit, it was operated for three days simulating actual CIL plant conditions.
The amenability of CIL over CIP processing could translate into a lower capex due to shorter leach times and elimination of the unit operations associated with the Merrill-Crowe section of the planned plant.
It said pilot test work will continue to produce sufficient loaded carbon for design purposes while evaluating variabilities of potential ore grades and further optimizing the process efficiencies.
“These initial metallurgical test work results are very encouraging,” Cliff James, Chairman and President of TVI Pacific Inc. said in a statement. “Confirmation of metal recoveries in this larger-scale pilot plant will help establish the recoveries of gold and silver that can be achieved in a commercial process.”
The results from this test work will be incorporated into the detailed planning for the construction of the plant, which is expected to commence as soon as an Environmental Clearance Certificate is granted by the Environmental Management Bureau and approval is received of the Declaration of Mining Project Feasibility, by the Mines and Geosciences Bureau of the Department of the Environment and Natural Resources.
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