Challenger Exploration (ASX: CEL) has received further promisng results from ongoing metallurgical testing at the company’s flagship Hualilan Gold Project in Argentina.
Follow up metallurgical testing on low-grade intrusion-hosted mineralisation, which represents the majority of the gold mineralisation at Hualilan, has significantly increased the concentrate grade whilst still maintaining gold recoveries above 90%.
Managing Director, Kris Knauer, said the testing which involved a regrind of the rougher sulphide concentrate followed by two cleaning stages produced a best concentrate grade of 53.6 g/t gold and 284g/t silver at recoveries of 93.4% (gold) and 70.4% (silver).
Our flagship Hualilan Gold project continues to deliver a pathway to becoming a substantial gold producing business,” Mr Knauer said.
“The 70% increase in the gold grade of the concentrate from 31.4 g/t to as high as 53.6 g/t provides a material and positive impact on potential economics. It delivers a significant increase in concentrate payability and sizeable reduction in concentrate transport costs for the intrusion-hosted mineralisation we expect will provide the majority of the ounces at Hualilan.
“The fact that this upgrade can be achieved whilst still maintaining gold recoveries comfortably above 90%, has certainly exceeded our most optimistic expectations.”
Mr Knauer said an increase in concentrate grades of this magnitude can have a significant positive effect on production economics and it is expected to provide:
- an increase concentrate payability to over 90%, and
- a significant reduction in concentrate transport costs.
