Lexam VG Gold Inc. is reporting “excellent” recoveries from recent metallurgical test work at its four Timmins properties.
Drill core samples analyzed from the Buffalo Anakerite, Paymaster, Fuller and Davidson Tisdale properties show recoveries of between 90.7 per cent and 98.5 per cent.
The company has NI 43-101 resource estimates for the four projects, and is currently working on a preliminary economic assessment for an open-pit operation.
The open pit gold resource estimate on the four projects is 761,400 ounces at 1.91 g/t in the measured and indicated categories, and 358,400 ounces at 1.78 g/t gold in the inferred category.
In a news release, the company said most of the properties have historic metallurgical studies or a history of gold milling.
“The objective of the present studies was to confirm that the favourable recovery extended to the lower grades of the open pittable resources,” the company said in a news release. “The results confirmed favourable metallurgical recovery of the lower grades contained within the proposed open pits, similar to the gold recovery of the historic underground mining.”
The Fuller and Davidson Tisdale deposits had some development between 1984 and 1988, including the development of a ramp to access the ore, and the mining and processing of a bulk sample. Extensive metallurgy was done at that time. The Buffalo Ankerite had historic underground mining of more than one million ounces of gold.
As of Sept. 30, 2013, the company had $3.8 million in cash, with no debt. Lexam has 226,570,860 issued and outstanding shares with 27 per cent owned by chair Rob McEwan.
