Lumina Gold Corp (TSX-V:LUM, OTCQB:LMGDF) told investors it has initiated a major work program at its Cangrejos gold-copper project in southwest Ecuador as it targets a feasibility study for the project in the first half of 2025.
Key components of the program include the collection of 20 metallurgical composite samples from dedicated drill holes within the Cangrejos and Gran Bestia deposits, comminution test work, detailed mineralogy and flotation test work for gold and copper recovery estimates and providing concentrate samples for marketing studies.
The company noted that it has completed 7,767 metres of drilling across 91 drill holes aimed at potentially upgrading some of the indicated mineral resource containing 16.8 million ounces of gold and 2.2 billion pounds of copper at the project to the measured mineral resources category.
Metallurgical samples and comminution testing samples were collected from 3,065 metres across 14 dedicated diamond drill holes and have arrived at CH Plenge & CIA, an independent metallurgical laboratory in Lima, Peru so that confirmatory and optimization metallurgical test work can begin.
Additional samples have arrived at the material testing facility in the US for the comminution testing.
Lumina said 6,842 metres of the 8,375 metres of planned geotechnical drilling is complete and the balance is expected to conclude before the holiday break in December.
“In past metallurgical test work programs, the Cangrejos and Gran Bestia deposits demonstrated good metallurgical performance using traditional flotation processes to produce a gold-rich flotation copper concentrate that should be saleable into the copper smelting market,” the company commented in a statement.
“This upcoming program will allow some optimization of process parameters and provide significant engineering data supporting process design criteria for the feasibility study.”
Lumina Gold is a precious and base metals exploration and development company focused on the Cangrejos Gold-Copper Project located in El Oro Province, southwest Ecuador.
Contact the author at stephen.gunnion@proactiveinvestors.com