Verity Resources (ASX: VRL) has received positive metallurgical test work results confirming the potential for low-cost production at its Monument gold project in Western Australia.
Recovery rates achieved in the testing of composite samples from Monument’s Korong deposit have additionally identified the opportunity for the use of conventional gravity front-end treatment.
Various testing methods returned best-case recoveries at 24 hours of up to 98.1% from fresh high-grade material, while saprock composites returned between 91.5% and 94% and the worst-case performance – using low-grade saprolite composite – recovered 89%.
Results also found material is able to be processed with low reagent consumption, enhancing the potential for positive outcomes in open-pit mining conditions.
Major De-Risking Milestone
Verity director Patrick Volpe said the initial metallurgical results were a major de-risking milestone for Korong that further validate the quality of the Monument project.
“We deliberately designed this program to be representative of potential mining conditions where composites were diluted with adjacent waste to simulate open-pit dilution,” Mr Volpe said.
“Combined with low cyanide and lime consumption, these outcomes highlight Korong’s amenability to a straightforward, conventional gravity plus cyanide leach flowsheet and provide strong momentum as progress towards a resource upgrade followed by technical studies on our pathway to mine.”
The testing of samples from the 139,000-ounce Korong deposit took place as Verity was undertaking drilling to upgrade the Korong-Waihi inferred resource to a higher confidence category.
Phase 2 Drilling Success
Verity reported further drilling success at Korong earlier this week, with numerous high-grade hits in results from an additional 11 reverse circulation infill holes across 984 metres in its Phase 2 program.
Intercepts such as 3.9m at 5.76 grams per tonne from 43m including 2m @ 9.55g/t continue to confirm the banded iron formation (BIF)-hosted lode model and grade continuity at Korong.
“Phase 2 drilling continues to outperform our expectations for the consistency and repeatability of gold mineralisation at Korong," Mr Volpe said.
"This latest batch again demonstrates encouraging grade continuity on infill spacing and further strengthens our confidence in the geological model underpinning the current resource."
