Canadian Arrow Mines Ltd report its metallurgical testing program for the Kenbridge Nickel Project has achieved excellent metal recoveries for nickel and copper.
It said that estimated average locked cycle flotation test recoveries from a blended representative sample of open pit and underground material, which was selected by CRO, grading 0.85% Ni and 0.38% Cu were 90% and 93% for nickel and copper, respectively. A sample of lower grade material from the open pit portion of the deposit grading 0.41% Ni, 0.20% Cu returned average LCT recoveries of 84% and 90% for nickel and copper, respectively.
Canadian Arrow Mines said that these results represent a significant increase in the metallurgical recoveries predicted in the Preliminary Economic Assessment, where an average nickel recovery of 74% was used. The metallurgical program was completed by Xstrata Process Support at Sudbury in Ontario under the direction of XPS metallurgists Mr David Middleditch and Mr Dominic Fragomeni.
The objectives of the metallurgical program were to determine optimized flotation conditions and grinding design criteria for the Kenbridge feasibility study and to maximize metal recoveries. Mining at Kenbridge would be done with a combination of open pit and underground methods. Locked cycle flotation tests were conducted on representative samples of open pit material and a 50/50 blend of open pit & underground materials to produce bulk nickel-copper concentrates. Calculated average metal recoveries are presented in
Mr Garett Macdonald VP of Operations of Canadian Arrow’ said that “We are very pleased with the results of the metallurgical program. The recent flotation results show that the Kenbridge project can deliver excellent metal recoveries and a saleable concentrate product with a simple & proven process from relatively low grade material. The results indicate that more saleable nickel pounds can be recovered with insignificant change to operating costs or effort as evaluated in the January 2008 PEA.”
He added that “This strong metallurgical response is what makes Kenbridge stand out. It is important to note that although higher grade zones occur within the Kenbridge deposit, the robust metallurgical recoveries allow for efficient and economic extraction of the lower grade halo as well, thus providing full value optimization.”
