Silver City Minerals Ltd (ASX:SCI) has received encouraging preliminary metallurgy results from three samples from its Copper Blow Copper-Cobalt Project, 20 kilometres south of Broken Hill.
These work results have emerged as the company begins an extensive drilling campaign at Copper Blow.
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This preliminary work was designed to give an early indication of the amenability of the various mineralisation styles to sulphide flotation.
High percentage recovery of copper and cobalt
Initial flotation test work delivered 97% copper recovery to a rougher float concentrate grading 26%, on drill samples grading 7.6% copper.
By comparison, there was 95% copper recovery with concentrate grading 14.5% copper on drill samples grading 0.9% copper.
A 93% cobalt recovery was achieved from first stage rougher pyrite concentrate grading 0.5% cobalt from pyrite rich drill samples grading 0.13% cobalt
Varied mineralisation from north and south zones
Each sample represents a style of mineralisation prevalent at Copper Blow.
The cobalt sample is in the South Zone and consists of abundant pyrite within a magnetite-quartz-rich rock.
The high-grade copper sample is also in the South Zone, is enriched in copper and gold, and comprises veins of magnetite-quartz-rich rock.
The lower grade copper sample is from the north zone where mineralisation is recorded over broad downhole distances between 25 metres and 80 metres.