Kootenay Silver (CVE: KTN) has revealed preliminary metallurgical results on the gold component contained within its Promontorio project silver resource in Mexico, which the company calls a positive development.
The testing, conducted by ALS Minerals, showed that recovery of gold from the Promontorio resource is possible using post-pressure oxidation, after which 94.5% of the gold was extracted from pyrite concentrate.
The company said though that further testing will be needed to determine the economics and capital costs of recovering the gold using pressure oxidation/cyanidation.
An additional test is already underway to assess the gold recovery with partial oxidation of the pyrite concentrate of approximately 50%.
"The results from this metallurgical testing is a positive development as the Promontorio resource and mineral system contains a substantial amount of gold that has yet to be factored into any of our resource calculations," said president and CEO James McDonald.
"While additional work is required to assess the economics and capital costs of oxidation, and what the potential net benefits would be, these results are a promising first step, as we continue to assess the gold component at Promontorio."
The testing was conducted on a pyrite concentrate that had a gold head assay of about 3.0 grams per tonne and about 98% of the pyrite was oxidized.
Earlier this month, the company bolstered its management team with the appointment of project manager, Kristian Whitehead, who has more than 10 years of experience as a project geologist, specializing in the implementation and management of drilling and advance staged programs.
He will be responsible for overseeing the company's current 30,000 metre, multi-phase drill and resource expansion program now in progress on the Promontorio project, where Kootenay last month unveiled the results from the first 8 holes, which revealed values as high as 199 grams per tonne (g/t) silver.
The 30,000 metre drill program is the largest drill campaign conducted on Promontorio so far, and Kootenay said it is designed to “substantially increase” the overall size of its contained silver resource and to fast track the path to a production decision.
A preliminary economic assessment (PEA) study is planned for the end of the drilling campaign, and will include an updated resource estimate with results from the latest drilling.
The report will then form the basis for the pre-feasibility study at Promontorio.
In August this past year, Kootenay announced it had nearly tripled the resource size at Promontorio. In total, the updated measured and indicated mineral resource contained an estimated 61.679 million ounces of silver equivalent, with another 14.469 million ounces of silver equivalent categorized as inferred.
Shares of the company were flat at 80 cents in Toronto on Thursday.
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