Mr. Derek White reports
METALLURGICAL TEST WORK INDICATES VERY HIGH GOLD RECOVERIES AT ASCOT'S PREMIER PROPERTY
Ascot Resources Ltd.'s confirmatory metallurgical testwork on six new composites from the Premier/Northern Lights, Big Missouri and Silver Coin deposits produced outstanding gold recoveries over a range of grind sizes utilizing a gravity and leach process.
Derek White, president and chief executive officer of Ascot Resources, commented: "We are very excited about the test results on metallurgical recoveries, grind size and the potential impact of an effective gravity circuit in the milling process. This latest testwork was similar in nature to technical work completed in 2015 and achieved excellent gold recoveries. We are incorporating these results into our ongoing engineering studies to quantify the added value to the project."
In the course of evaluating the restart scenario of the Premier mill, it was decided to conduct confirmatory metallurgical testwork to establish parameters for throughput expectations and the recovery of gold and silver. According to Westmin Resources, production records from 1989 to 1996, the Premier mill achieved an average gold recovery of 91.1 per cent and a silver recovery of 45.2 per cent. Ascot is planning to refurbish the Premier mill in its original configuration with the exception of adding a centrifugal gravity concentration stage (Knelson concentrator or similar) into the flowsheet.
The 2018 confirmatory testwork was conducted at Base Met Labs in Kamloops. The tests included a centrifugal gravity stage, followed by leaching, and achieved an average gold recovery of 97.43 per cent and a silver recovery of 72.67 per cent at the grind size (54 microm) that the Premier mill historically operated at. The testwork was conducted on six composites from a variety of mineralized zones from the Premier area, Big Missouri and Silver Coin, covering a grade range from 2.87 grams per tonne gold to 9.08 g/t Au. Tests were conducted at a variety of grind sizes and demonstrate that gold recovery is not particularly sensitive to a coarser grind size. This provides flexibility to generate different throughput rates during operation by varying grind sizes without a significant negative effect on gold and silver recoveries. The selected composites are designed to represent the zones of mineralization that are likely to be accessed early in a restart scenario.
The addition of a gravity stage into the flowsheet was prompted by testwork conducted in 2015 that evaluated gold and silver recovery of three composites from Premier (high grade and low grade) and Big Missouri. Several tests were run with the addition of a gravity stage in the process and these tests achieved higher recoveries than the leach tests without a gravity stage.
The results of the confirmatory metallurgical testwork will be utilized in the engineering studies that are currently under way, with additional testwork planned in 2019.
The attached table shows the metallurgical test results from six composites in the Premier area, Big Missouri and Silver Coin (Base Met Labs, 2018). The results show excellent recoveries for gold with a significant gravity component. The highlighted average values at the bottom of the table are calculated for a primary grind of 54 microm. The recoveries at 100 microm are slightly lower but still very high compared with historical performance. The final column shows the ball mill work index for each composite. The results are in line with historically observed hardness of processed material.
CompositeGrind (micron) Au recovery (%)Ag recovery (%) Head grade BWi (kWh/t)Gravity Total Au (g/t) Ag (g/t)Ben/Prew 10043.00 98.15 63.504.51 12.017.55463.70 99.50 70.8060210026.90 96.92 76.107.57 69.015.65466.10 98.96 83.10Lunchroom10061.50 99.35 63.609.08 14.015.65462.50 99.45 63.50Silver Coin10027.60 94.07 71.508.01 17.014.85426.90 95.93 76.80North Star 10021.00 93.75 65.604.33 20.014.75430.60 96.52 70.40Big Missouri 10038.10 92.59 70.302.877.017.75445.60 94.19 71.40Average10036.35 95.81 68.436.0623.1716.05449.23 97.43 72.67
The attached table shows metallurgical test results from 2015 testwork on three composites in the Premier area and Big Missouri (ALS Metallurgy Kamloops, 2015). The gold recovery achieved in the tests with an added gravity stage are higher than the results achieved by leaching only. These results prompted the inclusion of a gravity stage in the current testwork.
Composite Grind (micron) Au recovery (%) Ag recovery (%) Head gradeGravityTotalAu (g/t)Ag (g/t)Premier high100 - 95.3 72.218.6 387.0 70 - 95.9 68.510052.2 96.9 72.4Premier low93 - 93.2 75.66.4964.0 65 - 93.7 75.9 9335.9 95.8 78.5Big Missouri112 - 90.3 70.2 3.7 7.0 72 - 91.3 71.311232.1 93.3 71.1Average -40.1 95.3 74.0 9.6 152.7
John Kiernan, PEng, chief operating officer of the company, is the company's qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, and has reviewed and approved the technical contents of this news release.
Issuance of shares
Pursuant to the previously announced acquisition of the Silver Coin property in Stewart, B.C., from Jayden Resources Ltd., Ascot assumed Jayden's obligation to pay a finder's fee to Generic Capital Corp. Ascot and Generic have entered into an agreement pursuant to which Ascot has agreed to issue to Generic 121,436 Ascot common shares to settle the outstanding amount owing to Generic (approximately $117,878), subject to TSX Venture Exchange approval. The settlement shares will be subject to a four-month-and-one-day hold period.
About Ascot Resources Ltd.
Ascot Resources is a gold-and-silver-focused exploration company with a portfolio of advanced and grassroots projects in the Golden Triangle region of British Columbia. The company's flagship Premier project is a near-term high-grade advanced exploration project with large upside potential.
We seek Safe Harbor.
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