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TORONTO, May 14, 2019 /CNW/ - LAURION Mineral
Exploration Inc. (TSX.V: LME and OTCPINK: LMEFF) ("LAURION" or the
"Corporation") is pleased to announce the 2019
metallurgical laboratory test work completed on its surface
stockpile (the "Stockpile") emanating from the historic
operation of the Sturgeon River Mine at the Corporation's wholly
owned Ishkoday Project ("Ishkoday"). XPS Expert Process
Solutions of Falconbridge
(Ontario) performed the
metallurgical and mineralogical testing.
The purpose of the test work was a follow-up of the 2010 and
2014 testing, designed to evaluate the gravity recoverable gold
followed by flotation of the gravity tailings to recover any
remaining gold. The gravity test work was conducted on a 30kg
sub-sample via a Knelson Concentrator of blended feed supplied by
LAURION; whereas flotation testing was conducted on a 5kg
sub-sample of the Knelson tailings. Additional mineralogy work was
completed on 2 Knelson concentrate and 10 Knelson tailing
subsamples.
The following is a summary of the 2019 test results:
- Head assay analyses for gold and base metals yielded 1.85, 0.45
and 0.54 g/t gold; whereas there was trace copper, zinc and
lead:
-
- Sulphur averaged 0.32%, Iron at 4% and Silica (as
SiO2) at 61%
- Some 60% of the gold was recovered to the Knelson concentrate
at 187 times upgrading to 91.8 g/t gold
-
- Gravity separation is most effective if the gold is liberated
or locked with pyrite, and its performance may improve with finer
crushing
- A further 35% of the gold is recoverable by flotation
- Gold appears mainly as Electrum (98%), with the remainder in
pyrite:
-
- Electrum is a naturally occurring alloy of gold, silver
and trace amounts of copper and other metals, ranging from pale to
bright yellow in color, depending on the proportions of gold and
silver
- The majority of both were recovered through gravity
separation
- 30% of the electrum is locked in silicates and is recoverable
by flotation, but will require further grinding to improve grade
due to the fine-grained texture
The 2019 metallurgical study supports the previous 2010 and 2014
studies, and adds to the gold potential of the Stockpile. All
three metallurgical reports are available on the LAURION website at
www.laurion.ca.
2010 Metallurgical Work
The 2010 metallurgical testing was summarized in a LAURION
report titled "Resource Estimate on the Sturgeon River Mine
Waste Pile and Tailings, Ishkoday Property", by A. Armitage, P.
Geo., and D. Studd, P. Geo., of GeoVector Management Inc.,
June 2013 (the "2013 Technical
Report").
Gravity recoverable gold metallurgical test work completed in
2010 indicated that 87.5% of the gold could be concentrated by
gravity. The combination of Knelson Concentration with cyanidation
of the gravity tailings gave a combined recovery and extraction of
98.5%. A second set of gravity gold recovery test work was
completed via semi-batch and continuous gravity concentration
returned 82.6 % recovery. Microscopic examination indicated good
liberation of gold grains ranging from 15 to 177µm or 0.015 to
0.177mm in size, indicating the Ishkoday gold mineralization is
potentially both coarse and very fine.
The 2013 Technical Report also stated that the total resource
estimate for both the surface stockpile and the tailings deposits
was 281,571 tonnes grading 1.14 g/t gold for 10,327 contained
ounces of gold in the Indicated Mineral Resources Category (see
the Corporation's news release dated April
23, 2013). Phoenix Gold (1984) reported a historical
grade of 2.95 g/t gold from a bulk sample of the Stockpile. The
historic Sturgeon River Mine (1936 to 1942) produced 73,322 ounces
of gold and 15,929 ounces of silver, from the No. 3 Quartz Vein.
Gold was believed to be essentially located in white quartz vein
material and was reportedly hand sorted and milled at an average
grade of 15.71 g/t gold.
2014 Metallurgical Work
A further metallurgical study was completed in 2014 by Peacocke
and Simpson – Mineral Processing
Engineers, of Harare (Zimbabwe), titled "Gravity Concentration
Testwork on Waste Ore Stockpile Submitted by Laurion Mineral
Exploration Inc., Report Number A41/12A/14" dated February 2014 (the "2014 Technical
Report"), to determine gravity recovery response of the
Stockpile material. The crushed 20kg sample was processed via a
Knelson Concentrator. The average assayed head grade of the sample
was 3.86 g/t gold and the built up head grade from the test carried
out was 4.10 g/t gold. The realized gold recovery was 46.9% of
which 41.5% was in a "free gold" concentrate. Grinding of the
primary gravity tails realized a further gold recovery of 40.9%, of
which 35.0% was in a "free gold" concentrate. Gravity amenability
(higher mass yield-GAT) testing on final gravity tails realized a
recovery of 44.7% to a cumulative concentrate grade of 4.89 g/t
gold. The overall gravity gold recovery via semi-batch and
continuous gravity concentration was 82.6 %.
2019 Quality Assurance and Quality Control ("QA-QC")
XPS Expert Process solutions received 2 pallets of samples from
AGAT Laboratories of LAURION's Stockpile samples that included
rejects of the +6.3mm, -6.3 mm, and -2.0 mm size fractions, and
pulp samples. About 575kg of material was retrieved, and split
representatively to extract 26kg of material for the test blend.
Some 750 kg of the +6.3mm material was selectively split and 34kg
extracted for the test blend. The 60kg was crushed to -10 mesh
(1.7mm) and homogenized. The blend was split into 5-kg test charges
for grinding. Three 50g subsamples were taken for head assay
analyses. Gold assay was done by the Fire Assay Method to
completion. Some 30 kg of the blend was ground to roughly 38
microns (0.038mm) in 6 batches. The ground sample was passed
through a Knelson concentrator to recover a high grade gold
concentrate. Two kinetic rougher flotation tests were conducted
using the Knelson tailing samples retained.
Mineralogical analysis was performed on Knelson concentrate and
tails products. A combination of QEMSCAN and LA-ICP-MS was
performed to characterize the gold occurrences. QEMSCAN is an
automated system that produces particle maps (colour coded by
mineral). Electron Probe Microanalysis (EPMA) was performed to
quantify elemental concentration. Laser Ablation-Inductively
Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry (or LA-ICP-MS) was subsequently
carried out, performing highly sensitive multi-element and isotopic
analysis.
QA-QC on the 2010 and 2014 studies are outlined in the
metallurgical reports available on the LAURION website at
www.laurion.ca.
About LAURION
The Corporation is a junior mineral exploration and development
company listed on the TSX-V under the symbol LME and on the OTCPINK
under the symbol LMEFF. LAURION now has 153,470,084 outstanding
shares, of which 55.1% are owned and controlled by Insiders and
within the "friends and family" category. The Corporation's
emphasis is on the development of its flagship project, the 100%
owned mid-stage Ishkoday Gold Project, and its gold-silver and
gold-rich polymetallic mineralization with a significant upside
potential.
Mr. Jean Lafleur, P. Geo.
(APGO, OGQ), LAURION 's Technical Advisor to the Board of
Directors, is a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument
43-101 guidelines, and has reviewed and approved the content of
this news release.
Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Information
This press release contains forward-looking statements, which
reflect the Corporation's current expectations regarding future
events, including with respect to LAURION 's business, operations
and condition, management's objectives, strategies, beliefs and
intentions, the details, anticipated timing and completion of the
transactions and other matters outlined in this press release,
including without limitation, the timing, completion and future
results of the Corporation's exploration program at Ishkoday. The
forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties. Actual
events and future results, performance or achievements expressed or
implied by such forward-looking statements could differ materially
from those projected herein including as a result of a change in
the trading price of the common shares of LAURION , the
interpretation and actual results of current exploration
activities, changes in project parameters as plans continue to be
refined, future prices of gold and/or other metals, possible
variations in grade or recovery rates, failure of equipment or
processes to operate as anticipated, the failure of contracted
parties to perform, labor disputes and other risks of the mining
industry, delays in obtaining governmental approvals or financing
or in the completion of exploration, as well as those factors
disclosed in the Corporation's publicly filed documents. Investors
should consult the Corporation's ongoing quarterly and annual
filings, as well as any other additional documentation comprising
the Corporation's public disclosure record, for additional
information on risks and uncertainties relating to these
forward-looking statements. The reader is cautioned not to rely on
these forward-looking statements. Subject to applicable law, the
Corporation disclaims any obligation to update these
forward-looking statements.
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PROVIDER (AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN THE POLICIES OF THE TSX
VENTURE EXCHANGE) ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR
ACCURACY OF THE CONTENT OF THIS NEWS RELEASE.
SOURCE Laurion Mineral Exploration Inc.