Novo Reports Significant Advancements in Mechanical Sorting Technology
November 12 2019 - 7:00AM
Novo Resources Corp. (“
Novo” or
the “
Company”) (TSX-V: NVO; OTCQX: NSRPF) is
pleased to announce that the Company has completed encouraging gold
processing trials at the Steinert Global testing facility in Perth,
Australia.
Highlights:
- Recent tests of Steinert mechanical sorting equipment
demonstrate recovery of fine gold nuggets as small as 0.4 mm, a
significant step toward a potentially cost-effective “dry and
chemical free” means of gold recovery. Recent proprietary
technological improvements in sensor sensitivity, image recognition
ability and software development made by Steinert have been driven
by the need to sort fine particles of metal such as copper from
industrial waste, Steinert’s main business focus. Novo is working
with Steinert to exploit this technology as a potential means of
gold recovery (please see
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLv87rdpFnE).
- This technology, using induction sensors as the primary
means utilized to detect small gold particles, adds to Novo’s
“palette” of potential processing solutions. Fine nugget
sorting testwork complements Novo’s recent tests of other
technologies including eddy current separation (please refer to the
Company’s news release dated September 16, 2019 -
https://www.novoresources.com/news-media/news/display/index.php?content_id=363)
and x-ray transmission mechanical sorting of gold-bearing
conglomerate (please refer to the Company’s news releases dated
November 19, 2018 -
https://www.novoresources.com/news-media/news/display/index.php?content_id=331
- and December 20, 2018 -
https://www.novoresources.com/news-media/news/display/index.php?content_id=335,
and January 31, 2019 -
https://www.novoresources.com/news-media/news/display/index.php?content_id=341).
Novo envisions applying a combination of technologies to process
its conglomeratic and lag gravel gold deposits that it is exploring
across the Pilbara region, Australia, noting that Beatons Creek, in
addition to coarse gold, has significant quantities of very fine
gold amenable to conventional CIL gold processing.
- Steinert has provided favorable initial guidance on
expected productivities of sorting various size fractions of
gold-bearing material utilizing mechanical sorters.
Productivity estimates include:
- Particle sizes 17-50 mm: approximately 280 tonnes per hour
- Particle sizes 6-17 mm: approximately 90 tonnes per hour
- Finer particle sizes including sub-mm: approximately 50 tonnes
per hour
Numbers above are estimated based on sorting a loosely packed
mono-layer of material scattered across 70% of a 2 m wide conveyor
belt moving at a speed of 2.8 m/sec. Sorting of fine material may
benefit from use of thinner belts, 3 mm instead of 5 mm, which
allows for a higher induction signal and is expected to further
reduce the size of gold particles that can be detected.
- Steinert has also provided encouraging mechanical
sorting operating cost guidance. Typical operational cost
of mechanical sorters is around US$1.00-$1.50 per tonne of feed
processed at a belt coverage of 12%. A significant proportion of
operating costs are associated with the cost of providing
compressed air to the ejection valves. Mechanical sorters are
typically used for upgrading feeds ahead of long-distance trucking
to a plant or as pre-processing to upgrade material where
processing plants are constrained for throughput. Each of these
scenarios involve high ejection rates, often exceeding 50% of the
total mass. In contrast to this traditional use, Novo’s intended
application contemplates mechanical sorting as the primary sorting
mechanism to separate gold particles and it is expected that less
than 1% of material will require ejection at 70% belt coverage.
Novo have been advised that processing cost could potentially be
reduced under this scenario to as low as US$0.26 per
tonne.
- Novo envisions utilization of mechanical sorting as a
means of dry processing of Egina lag gravels and is making plans to
field test this technology in 2020.
- These technological improvements in nugget detection
have positive implications for gold capture at Novo’s Karratha gold
project. Test work conducted on Karratha conglomerates by
TOMRA, Sydney, Australia, in late 2018 and early 2019 clearly shows
mechanical sorting of +6 mm gold-bearing rock is effective at
capturing a significant percentage of gold, but a solution for the
-6 mm fraction of crushed gold bearing conglomerates was not
feasible at that time. It now appears a solution is
possible.
- Technological improvements in mechanical sorting
technology continue apace, with Australia’s dominant mechanical
sorting companies, Steinert and TOMRA, each supported by strong and
active research and development divisions. Both companies
continue to strive for improved detection and ejection capabilities
to advance commercial application of mechanical sorters in the
resources sector.
“Our recent tests on sortability of fine gold
nuggets are very encouraging,” commented Rob Humphryson, CEO and
director of Novo. “As investors are aware, Novo is experimenting
with a number of waterless, chemical free processing techniques to
handle the unique nuggety gold in our Pilbara conglomerates and lag
gravels. Tests over the past few months with Steinert mechanical
sorters fitted with induction sensors have shown that we can now
reliably identify gold particles orders of magnitude smaller than
possible only a year ago. Early this year, we showed that sorting
of gold-bearing rock material using TOMRA’s mechanical sorters
utilizing x-ray transmission is highly effective. More recent tests
using Steinert eddy current separators also proved very promising.
We are quickly developing a palette of processing techniques that
can be potentially utilized to treat our various styles of
mineralization. Whilst we have been assured that a detected gold
particle can be reliably ejected, field testing of these
technologies in 2020 will be the next critical step to prove this
technology and gain an operational understanding of productivities,
costs and detection size limits.”
Dr. Quinton Hennigh, P. Geo., the Company’s,
President, Chairman, Director, and a qualified person as defined by
National Instrument 43-101, has approved the technical contents of
this news release.
About Novo Resources Corp.
Novo’s focus is to explore and develop gold
projects in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, and Novo has
built up a significant land package covering approximately 13,000
sq km with varying ownership interests. For more information,
please contact Leo Karabelas at (416) 543-3120 or
e-mail leo@novoresources.com
On Behalf of the Board of Directors,
Novo Resources Corp.
“Quinton Hennigh”Quinton Hennigh President and
Chairman
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation
Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the
TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or
accuracy of this news release.
Forward-looking information Some
statements in this news release contain forward-looking information
(within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation) including,
without limitation, statements as to planned processing activities
and the likelihood of their results. These statements address
future events and conditions and, as such, involve known and
unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the
actual results, performance or achievements to be materially
different from any future results, performance or achievements
expressed or implied by the statements. Such factors include,
without limitation, customary risks of the mineral resource
industry as well as the performance of services by third
parties.
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