Positive metallurgical results prompt Breaker to explore low-cost early production

Metallurgical test work on Breaker Resources’ (ASX: BRB) Lake Roe project has recovered up to 99% gold in both fresh and oxide ore, with the company planning to investigate a low-cost start up option to generate early cash flow.

According to Breaker, the test work has confirmed both the fresh and oxide gold ore was amenable to rapid leach kinetics with minimal oxygen and reagent requirements.

The ore is also suited to a conventional crushing and ball milling circuit with recoveries in fresh ore between 97% and 99% and oxide gold recouping 96% and 99%.

“These results significantly de-risk the Lake Rose project and point towards low processing (gold recovery) costs without any significant issues identified in either the fresh or oxide ore,” Breaker executive chairman Tom Sanders said.

He said the high gravity gold recoveries in both ores could result in a low-cost start up that the company will be exploring.

“This possibility involves a staged development scenario consisting initially of the set up of crushing, grinding and gravity capture capacity, followed by later installation of leach tanks and other peripheral infrastructure to treat the stockpiled gravity tailings at the appropriate time.”

He added the benefits of this start up would be a lower capital expenditure and early cash flow.

“In the meantime, we will continue drilling to expand the gold resource and potentially negate the typical ‘orphan’ investor period that many companies undergo while undertaking feasibility studies.”

Ongoing drilling at Lake Roe which is 100km east of Kalgoorlie in WA has returned consistently high grade gold with wide intersections.

The latest gold intersections at the project revealing up to 35.88 grams per tonne gold and intersections up to 36m thick.

Better intersections from the recent results included 9m at 35.88g/t gold, including a 2m interval containing 108.55g/t gold, and 36m at 2.78g/t gold including an 8m interval with 8.01g/t gold.

A maiden resource is due to be released within the next few months, while resource drilling is scheduled to continue across the 550 square kilometre project.

In the first few minutes of trade, Breaker’s share price rose more than 4% to A$0.72.