Probe Metals Inc. (TSX-V: PRB) (OTCQB:
PROBF) (“Probe” or the
“
Company”) is pleased to announce the commencement
of an advanced metallurgical program on its Val-d’Or East Project
as well as the latest metallurgical results from its mineral
sorting testwork. Metallurgical recoveries from
past-producing operations within the Val-d’Or East project,
including the Beliveau, Monique and Bussiere Mines, have shown very
good historical recoveries of +93%. The main objective of the
advanced metallurgical program is to confirm and potentially
improve upon these historical results. In addition to estimating
recoveries, the program will also support the development on an
integrated flowsheet for processing deposits in the Val-d’Or East
Project and generate information for future mining “trade-off”
studies. The
testing program will be performed at Corem facilities in Quebec
City and will be supervised by BBA Inc. The results are expected in
the second half of 2020.
David Palmer, President and CEO of Probe,
states: “Owing to the rapid growth of our Val-d’Or East gold
resources, and the continued success of drilling programs, we will
be expanding the scope of our programs to encompass more studies
that further de-risk the project and allow us to assess potential
development scenarios and economic models. The advanced
metallurgical program will provide processing options for the
Company while we continue to grow the existing resource and
delineate new targets and deposits on our Val-d’Or east
project.”
Historical Testwork
A significant number of metallurgical campaigns
were carried out on mineralized material from the former L.C.
Beliveau mine, first by SOQUEM in the period from 1983 to 1985, and
then by Cambior from 1986 to 1988. Since the mineralized material
from L.C. Beliveau was trucked to the Yvan Vézina mill
approximately 150km away, the flowsheet and testwork were focused
on gravity separation, flotation and cyanidation of flotation
concentrate. The historical gold recovery during production of the
Beliveau mine was 93.1%. Subsequently, during those metallurgical
campaigns, numerous tests were performed to test and optimize the
simplified and less capital-intensive flowsheet of gravity and
leaching of gravity tails, which showed an even better
metallurgical response with an overall gold extraction of 95.5% or
higher. The gold recovery averaged 97.9% with an associated cyanide
consumption of approximately 1.0 kg/t NaCN.
The former Monique open-pit mine was operated
from 2013 to 2016 inclusively and the mineralized material was
trucked approximately 50 km to be processed at the Camflo mill. The
gold recovery achieved with the Merrill-Crowe based conventional
flowsheet was 95.9%. Gold recovery is also referenced for the
former Bussiere mine on the Courvan Trend, which operated
intermittently from 1932 to 1942. Cyanidation was introduced in
1937 to process the mineralized material and the achieved gold
recovery was 98%.
There is no metallurgical information available
for the other deposits of the Courvan Trend, or the North and
Highway deposits of the Pascalis Trend.
Metallurgical Testwork Program –
Objectives and Details
The current metallurgical testing program aims
to improve upon the historical recoveries and establish recoveries
on the deposits where there is no information available. Currently,
the assumed gold recovery for the Val-d’Or East Project is 95%
based on historical testwork and production.
To achieve the program objectives, a series of
composites will be generated and tested: two composites for New
Beliveau, and one each for the North, Highway, Monique and
Courvan Trend deposits. The first Beliveau composite will be
assembled from drill core intervals spatially selected to be
representative of both the type of mineralization and the average
head grade of the resource. The second Beliveau composite will be
assembled from mineral sorting concentrates to be representative of
the material that would be leached if pre-concentration was
implemented.
In the Courvan Trend, the mineralization and
host rock are similar across the Trend. As a result, a composite
representing the whole Courvan Trend mineralization will be created
from drill core intervals. Composites for the North, Highway and
Monique deposits will be generated in a similar manner.
All composites will be subject to gravity
separation followed by leaching of the gravity tails. Different
leaching conditions will be evaluated and optimized. Communition
testing will also be performed on some composites to support the
design of a crushing and grinding circuit.
The results from the program will be released
later this year (H2 2020).
Pre-Concentration (Mineral Sorting)
Study
In a separate study, a series of full-scale
pre-concentration sorting tests were completed at TOMRA’s facility
in Wedel, Germany from a 12-tonne representative sample with a
back-calculated head grade of 3.5 g/t gold from the New Beliveau
deposit. Based on the testwork results that were presented in the
43-101 Technical Report (see Press Release dated October 19th,
2019), a tentative crushing, screening and sorting flowsheet was
designed with 3 stage crushing and two sorting circuits, one for
the mid-size and one for the coarse material. Mass balances for
8,000 tpd of mine mineralized material were then calculated to size
equipment and estimate operating and capital costs. The flowsheet
incorporating pre-concentration (i.e. crushing, sorting, grinding,
gravity separation followed by gravity tails leaching) was compared
to a more traditional free-milling flowsheet of crushing, grinding,
gravity separation followed by gravity tails leaching. Both
Beliveau historical testwork done in the 1980s and benchmarks from
other similar deposits were used to complement currently missing
properties/parameters. Main highlights of this side-by-side
comparison study indicates that incorporating pre-concentration
sorting could have significant and positive impacts which are:
- Reduction of 44% of the mass flow going to the
grinding/leaching plant;
- Reduction of 22% in the capital cost for the crushing and
processing plant due to the reduction in size of the process
plant;
- Reduction of 33% in the operating cost per tonne of ROM
mineralized material;
- Reduction of 4.9% in overall gold recovery
Overall, the preliminary results from mineral sorting show
significant potential with a large reduction in the size of the
processing plant and a meaningful reduction in capital and
operating costs. Based on these results, Probe intends to continue
evaluating mineral sorting for potential inclusion in the project
flowsheet.
Qualified PersonsThe scientific
and technical content of this press release has been reviewed,
prepared and approved by Mr. Yves Dessureault, P.Eng., COO and was
reviewed and approved by Colin Hardie, P.Eng. each of whom is a
"Qualified Person" as defined by National Instrument 43-101 -
Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101"). Mr.
Hardie is an employee of BBA Inc. and is considered to be
“independent” of Probe for purposes of section 1.5 of NI
43-101.
About Corem:Corem is the
largest centre of expertise and innovation in Canada dedicated to
mineral processing. The centre provides specialized services and
research expertise to exploration and mining companies around the
world.
About BBA Inc.:BBA has been
providing a wide range of consulting engineering services for 40
years. Today, its engineering, environmental and commissioning
experts’ team up to quickly and accurately pinpoint the needs of
industrial and institutional clients. The firm’s expertise is
recognized in the fields of energy, mining and metals, biofuels and
oil and gas. With 13 offices across Canada to provide clients
with local support and field presence, BBA is recognized for
providing some of the mining industry’s most innovative,
sustainable and reliable solutions. www.bba.ca
About Probe Metals:Probe Metals
Inc. is a leading Canadian gold exploration company focused on the
acquisition, exploration and development of highly prospective gold
properties. The Company is committed to discovering and developing
high-quality gold projects, including its key asset the Val-d’Or
East Gold Project, Quebec. The Company is well-funded and controls
a strategic land package of approximately 1,000-square-kilometres
of exploration ground within some of the most prolific gold belts
in Quebec. The Company was formed as a result of the sale of Probe
Mines Limited to Goldcorp in March 2015. Newmont currently owns
approximately 12% of the Company.
On behalf of Probe Metals Inc.,
Dr. David Palmer, President
& Chief Executive Officer
For further information:
Please visit our website at www.probemetals.com
or contact:
Seema SindwaniDirector of Investor
Relationsinfo@probemetals.com+1.416.777.9467
Forward-Looking Statements
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation
Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the
TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or
accuracy of this release. This News Release includes certain
"forward-looking statements" which are not comprised of historical
facts. Forward-looking statements include estimates and statements
that describe the Company’s future plans, objectives or goals,
including words to the effect that the Company or management
expects a stated condition or result to occur. Forward-looking
statements may be identified by such terms as “believes”,
“anticipates”, “expects”, “estimates”, “may”, “could”, “would”,
“will”, or “plan”. Since forward-looking statements are based on
assumptions and address future events and conditions, by their very
nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Although
these statements are based on information currently available to
the Company, the Company provides no assurance that actual results
will meet management’s expectations. Risks, uncertainties and other
factors involved with forward-looking information could cause
actual events, results, performance, prospects and opportunities to
differ materially from those expressed or implied by such
forward-looking information. Forward looking information in this
news release includes, but is not limited to, the Company’s
objectives, goals or future plans, statements, exploration results,
potential mineralization, the estimation of mineral resources,
exploration and mine development plans, timing of the commencement
of operations and estimates of market conditions. Factors that
could cause actual results to differ materially from such
forward-looking information include, but are not limited to failure
to identify mineral resources, failure to convert estimated mineral
resources to reserves, the inability to complete a feasibility
study which recommends a production decision, the preliminary
nature of metallurgical test results, delays in obtaining or
failures to obtain required governmental, environmental or other
project approvals, political risks, inability to fulfill the duty
to accommodate First Nations and other indigenous peoples,
uncertainties relating to the availability and costs of financing
needed in the future, changes in equity markets, inflation, changes
in exchange rates, fluctuations in commodity prices, delays in the
development of projects, capital and operating costs varying
significantly from estimates and the other risks involved in the
mineral exploration and development industry, and those risks set
out in the Company’s public documents filed on SEDAR. Although the
Company believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing
the forward-looking information in this news release are
reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on such
information, which only applies as of the date of this news
release, and no assurance can be given that such events will occur
in the disclosed time frames or at all. The Company disclaims any
intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking
information, whether as a result of new information, future events
or otherwise, other than as required by law.
Probe Gold (TSXV:PRB)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2024 to May 2024
Probe Gold (TSXV:PRB)
Historical Stock Chart
From May 2023 to May 2024