Gatling Exploration (TSX-V:GTR, OTCQB:GATGF) Inc has reported initial metallurgical test results from its Larder gold project in Ontario, showing overall gold recovery rates of 91.9% for the Bear deposit.
Larder, which spans 3,370 hectares, lies in the prolific Abitibi greenstone belt and hosts three high-grade gold deposits called Fernland, Cheminis and Bear, which are connected over a 4.5-kilometer strike length.
Three 30-35kg composite samples were selected from material from multiple holes in each deposit.
READ: Gatling Exploration reveals high-grade gold intercepts of up to 25.3 g/t at the Bear deposit on the Larder project
Combined gravity and standard cyanide extraction methods returned initial overall recoveries of 88.3% for Fernland, 80.8% for Cheminis and 91.9% for Bear, which is the highest-grade deposit and thus showed the highest initial recovery results.
Gatling noted that reports from the early 1990s had indicated gold recoveries up to 94% from Cheminis so it aims to further optimize total gold recoveries in future metallurgical testwork across all three deposits.
"We expect to conduct further testing in the coming months to evaluate the host of optimization opportunities to enhance overall recoveries towards the benchmark figures typically seen in the Abitibi, in the range of the low-to-mid 90%, for operating mines," said CEO Jason Billan.
"While the initial sample representing the Cheminis deposit came in lower than anticipated, we are confident that further testing will yield higher recoveries, as evidenced by the 3,800-tonne bulk sample conducted by Northfield Minerals, sent to the Kerr mill in 1990, which achieved a recovery rate of 94%."
The Larder project area sits 7 km west of the Kerr Addison mine, which produced 11 million ounces of gold, and all of the property is accessible by truck or all-terrain vehicles on non-serviced roads and trails.
Contact the writer at giles@proactiveinvestors.com