Emerita Resources (EMO.V) is a natural resource company engaged in the acquisition, exploration, and development of mineral properties in Europe, with a primary focus on exploring in Spain. The Company focuses on traditional base metals (zinc, lead and copper) and precious metals (silver and gold).
The company has a 100% interest in the Iberian Belt West (IBW) project that contains a combined 18.8 Mt maiden mineral resource including a 14.07 Mt indicated resource at 7.63% ZnEq and a 4.71 Mt inferred resource at 9.29% ZnEq. The company also holds the Nuevo Tintillo project, both located in the famous Iberian Pyrite Belt in southern Spain. Emerita is also awaiting a final court decision on the Aznalcóllar mine – one of the largest undeveloped zinc assets in the world – that contains the Los Frailes and Aznalcóllar deposits, both former past producing open pit mines.
Today, the Company announced an update on the metallurgical testing program on its wholly-owned Iberian Belt West Project (IBW). Emerita Resources has conducted Metallurgical testing Phase I, in collaboration with Wardell Armstrong International and SRK Consulting.
The goal of this program was to demonstrate that commercial grade concentrates can be produced from the Project’s La Romanera and La Infanta deposits which comprise the NI 43-101 mineral resource estimate to date, and at recoveries which are potentially economic and provide required data for planned mill plant design.
Phase I metallurgical Testing was carried out on La Romanera and La Infanta deposits. IBW hosts three massive sulphide deposits: La Infanta, La Romanera and El Cura.
In Phase I the precious metal recoveries were up to 48.6 % silver and 17.2 % gold in different products.
Phase II, which has now been initiated, will investigate optimizing gold and silver recoveries as gravitational and/or concentrate products to bring that up to a target of 60% recovery or more.
Phase I demonstrates that the IBW Project shows excellent averages, 85.6% Zinc recovery, 62% Copper recovery and 59% Lead recovery, obtaining commercial grade concentrates from both deposits.
| I. | Concentrates | |
| La Infanta Deposit: | ||
| Zinc concentrate: 52.7% Zn; 0.4 g/t Au; 113g/tn Ag and 8.5% mass pull. | ||
| Recoveries of 81.5% Zn, 9.6% Au, 12% Ag. | ||
| Copper concentrate: 23.9% Cu, 7.4g/t Au and 1780 g/t Ag and 1.8% mass pull. | ||
| Recoveries of 47.5% Cu, 35.4% Au, 37.7% Ag. | ||
| Lead concentrate: 41.6% Pb, 4.42%Cu 0.6g/Au and 510g/t silver and 6.5% mass pull. | ||
| Recoveries of 84.5% Pb; 33.5% Cu; 11% Au; 41.3% Ag. | ||
| Highlight the recovery of 56% of gold and 91% of silver in La Infanta deposit. Gold mainly associated with copper concentrate and silver associated with copper and lead concentrates. | ||
| La Romanera Deposit: | ||
| Zinc concentrate: 52.6% Zn; 2.4 g/t Au; 182g/t Ag and 5.5% mass pull. | ||
| Recoveries 86.5% Zn; 9.3% Au; 13.6% Ag. | ||
| Lead concentrate: 43.5% Pb; 13.8% Cu, 5.2 g/t Au; 1165 g/t Ag and 1.8% mass pull. | ||
| Recoveries 50.5% Pb; 57% Cu; 6.6% Au; 28.5% Ag. | ||
According to Jorge Blanco, Director of Metallurgy for Emerita, “The results of these tests show a potential to increase gold recovery by up to an additional 43.25%. With what we have learned from the Phase I testing and the mineralogical work now being completed in support of Phase II we see potential to achieve 60% recoveries of the gold in Romanera. Given the gold enrichment that occurs in portions of that deposit this represents an important opportunity for the Project.”
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