Phoenix Copper’s metallurgy tests using ATS technology on oxide material from the Empire Mine open pit, Idaho, had resulted in robust metallurgical recoveries of copper, gold and silver, the junior said in a statement.
ATS is considered an environmentally friendly reagent, it added, intended to replace the use of sulphuric acid and cyanide in the recovery and processing of copper and precious metals.
Produced and sold in bulk in Idaho, ATS is commonly used as a fertilizer for the agricultural sector.
Ryan McDermott, chief executive, said, "I am pleased to report that RDI's laboratories in Colorado have independently produced robust metal recoveries using representative bulk ore samples from metallurgical drilling at the Empire Mine open pit oxide deposit.
“These are similar to those earlier produced at AuRIC Laboratories in Salt Lake City, Utah using smaller samples taken from surface trenching.”
"In addition to positive environmental impacts, this technology would enable us to recover and process copper, gold and silver in one process, thus bringing forward the production of precious metals from the Empire Mine open pit,” said McDermott.
Phoenix added it had also acquired all of AuRIC’s assets following its closure, including the analytical equipment and supplies necessary for the onsite laboratory that will service the Empire Mine once it is in operation at a much-reduced cost.