North Bay Resources Inc. (OTC:NBRI) has successfully completed the testing of the flotation cells at its Bishop Gold Mill, a critical component in the gold extraction process.
In a recent interview with Proactive, CEO Jared Lazerson emphasized the significance of this step, which brings North Bay Resources closer to its goal of pouring gold bars by the fourth quarter.
Proactive: There is news out from the company talking about completing your testing at the Bishop Gold Mill. This is obviously another step in the process. So maybe just give everyone an idea about what the testing is, why you needed to do it, and what you were able to get out from it.
Jared Lazerson: This is a key test of the flotation cells. So the mill process, the flow chart really of the mill design, all ties into the flotation. Flotation is a very standardized process in mining. It allows for the extraction of gold and sulfide material. So, basically what happens is there is a flocculant reagent that coats the ore after it's been ground down to a fairly fine size. That then goes into the flotation cells where there's a frother, which is literally like dish soap. The coating that goes on the ore before it goes into flotation cells is hydrophobic, so it means it doesn't like water. The gold then will float to the top on the bubbles and then get moved into a tray with paddles. We have successfully tested that over the last little bit and that was the announcement today that the flotation cells are working.
Now we will begin to dial in the metallurgy and the exact reagents. We already have a formula. We'll double-check that with the lab over the next couple of weeks. We are getting very close here. But the operation of flotation cells is obviously key to the entire extraction process. It's really kind of the last piece in getting everything dialed in for operations.
So people understand, once that is sort of dialed in, you're able to get to a point where you would be using this process to, in essence, create gold bars, right?
That's correct. That's why the flotation step is so key, because it is essentially the final step before producing a concentrate and that then is refined into gold bars.
Lastly, 5,000 tonnes is what you're initially targeting. What sort of timeline are we still looking at here?
We're not going to change our outlook, which is pouring bars by Q4. It may happen sooner. But this is the mining business and I just always like to keep expectations realistic. In terms of tonnage, 5,000 tones, it's actually a manageable number in terms of what we currently have. In the big picture, in terms of the potential resource that we have at our gold deposit, it's really a drop in the bucket. It looks like there is many times that. But again, we'd like to handle this in small chunks, particularly for shareholders and investors. And, you know, step by step, but 5,000 tonnes at a half ounce, which we've got solid assays on, is 2,500 ounces, which is a sizable amount at $2,000 an ounce. We're in the $5 million range. It's certainly a step in the right direction, but in the big picture, it's a relatively small amount of what actually is available.
As well, we're continuing to look at opportunities throughout the western US and Canada, primarily in terms of picking up ounces. But we may also begin to look at expanding mill activities, although obviously we have the Bishop Mill. We'll get that up and running. And then, we may look at expanding or other opportunities. We just want to stay real focused over the next up six to 18 months of making sure that everything's running smooth at Bishop and then take it from there.
There is a lot of opportunity in the gold space. It's a hot space. And, you know, I know from experience, you know, that the deals really happen at the bottom of the market when everybody's really struggling. The outlook for gold continues to be very strong with the price of gold essentially doubling in the last 18 months, there's just a lot of action. For someone like me who's well-networked, well-known in the mining business, there's a lot of opportunity coming through our door. So that's kind of how between the operations and the M&A, that's really how I'm spending my time these days. It's a very exciting time in the gold business and it appears there are no signs of letting up.
Quotes have been edited for clarity and style