Asiamet Resources Limited (LON:ARS, CVE:ARS) said the results to date from the metallurgical test work being carried out on ore from its BKM deposit copper in Indonesia had been “very positive”.
Remember, this work, which is only part-way complete, is key to whether the company uses a cheap and straightforward recovery mechanism called solvent extraction and electro-winning.
In particular, the results will guide the design of the heap leaching operation, a simple but effective method of liberating copper in solution.
READ: Asiamet Resources considers bigger pit at BKM after latest drill results
The process is designed to take 270 days and 20 columns - 12 short, eight long of two crush sizes - are currently leaching.
The total of 12, two-metre ‘short’ columns have are being leached and thus far have exceeded 87% recoveries for the 12.5mm crush size fraction and have yielded 75% recoveries for the 19mm size fraction.
Turning to the six-metre ‘long’ columns, leachable copper recoveries for 12.5mm size fraction have thus far exceeded 72%, and leachable copper recoveries for the 19mm size fraction have exceeded 73% in some composites.
"The detailed metallurgical programme is a key element in de-risking"
The short column tests are expected to be finalised in July and the long columns in October, with the metallurgical data and conclusions “progressively incorporated into the ongoing BKM feasibility study”.
"The detailed metallurgical programme is a key element in de-risking, and proving up the economics, of the BKM project,” said chief executive Peter Bird.
“The goal of the metallurgical test-work is to confirm the initial assumptions interpreted in the PEA and allow us to establish appropriate design criteria for the proposed processing facilities as the project moves into the more detailed engineering and project planning stages.
“The detailed evaluations being performed by our highly-experienced team provide a solid basis for the design and engineering work and are critical to ensuring that appropriate budget and schedule targets are set for the project construction phase to be outlined in the Feasibility Study."
In late morning trading, Asiamet shares were 4.3%, or 0.2p higher at 4.90p.
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