Antipa Minerals Ltd (ASX:AZY) has confirmed ore from its North Telfer Project in Western Australia can be processed to produce both copper-gold concentrate as well as cobalt-gold products.
The metallurgical test work demonstrated the ore could produce a copper-gold concentrate of up to 21.9% copper in intermediate flotation concentrate with high gold grades up to 67 g/t.
Antipa also produced standalone cobalt products in the test work, using both gravity and flotation methods to produce concentrate.
The cobalt gravity concentrate graded up to 11% cobalt with recoveries up to 66% and the flotation concentrate graded up to 5.6% cobalt with recoveries up to 68%, both with gold by-product.
All metallurgical test work to date has been conducted by Bureau Veritas Minerals Pty Ltd under the management of Strategic Metallurgy Pty Ltd.
READ: Antipa Minerals raising up to $7.5 million to accelerate gold, copper exploration programs
The test work aimed to confirm the potential of ore from the Minyari Dome deposit to be processed through two potential routes: a conventional gold circuit to recover gold only or a conventional flotation to create discrete copper-gold and cobalt-gold products.
This follows on from testing in 2017 that focused on gold only, with conventional gravity and cyanide leach processing delivering recoveries of 95% in oxide ore and 88% in primary ore.
Antipa believes unlocking the copper and cobalt by-product value can further enhance the project’s development, particularly now that it is demonstrably amenable to conventional processing techniques.
Upcoming test work will focus on:
Copper and cobalt flotation optimisation to improve concentrate grades at suitable recoveries;
Optimisation of gravity concentration of cobalt;
Oxide by-product flotation test work;
Grind optimisation; and
Evaluation of heap leach amenability.