Fulcrum Metals reports progress at Sylvanite, Teck-Hughes

The AIM-traded firm said that at the Sylvanite Gold Tailings project, phase one testing with Extrakt Process Solutions’ non-toxic technology yielded a 63% increase in gold recovery, raising extraction rates from 30% to 49%.

Leaching times were also dramatically reduced by 94%, from 48 hours to just three hours.

It said Extrakt believed further optimisation could enhance recovery rates even further.

The board noted that the results marked a substantial improvement over traditional cyanide-based methods, previously tested in 2008.

Meanwhile, Fulcrum said it had launched a phase two conceptual study at the Teck-Hughes Gold Tailings Project.

The phase included developing operating plans and cost estimates, supported by near-completed auger hole sampling to expand the dataset.

It said the findings would facilitate the preparation of a NI 43-101 technical report.

“Unoptimised leach test work at Sylvanite has delivered remarkable results increasing the gold recoveries by over 60% and materially cutting leach times by over 90% compared to historic leach testing,” said chief executive officer Ryan Mee.

“Leaching is the key factor to unlocking the vast resource potential held within mine waste that sits in tailings in Kirkland Lake, one of Canada's great gold camps with over 40 Moz of gold produced.

“The unoptimised leach test work at Sylvanite and Teck-Hughes earlier this year is a significant step in proving the disruptive potential of Extrakt's technology.”

Mee said the technology being used by Fulcrum placed it “at the forefront” of discovering lost resources from mine waste, including from difficult refractory ore.

“Significant work at Teck-Hughes is advancing with the phase two conceptual study starting alongside resource definition work that could support a 43-101 technical report.”

At 0800 GMT, shares in Fulcrum Metals were flat at 7.5p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.