Compelling Coarse Ore Flotation Results Indicate Throughput Upside for Kharmagtai

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Xanadu Mines Ltd.
Xanadu Mines Ltd.

TORONTO, April 23, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Xanadu Mines Ltd (ASX: XAM, TSX: XAM) (Xanadu, XAM or the Company) is pleased to provide an update on metallurgical testwork for the Kharmagtai Copper-Gold Project (Kharmagtai) in Mongolia, being developed with the Company’s joint venture partner, Zijin Mining Group Co., Ltd. (Zijin).

The Eriez HydroFloat test work for evaluating coarse ore flotation has demonstrated excellent results for one of the key uplift scenarios defined in the Kharmagtai Scoping Study1. It has effectively improved upfront processing efficiencies, producing a coarse reject of up to ~44% by mass for the main mineralised sulphide orebody.

Highlights

  • Testwork for assessing coarser grind options (P80 grind sizes ranging between 150 to 450 microns (μm) for Kharmagtai sulphide mineralisation, using HydroFloat achieved compelling results:

    • Up to 94% copper and 92% gold recovered in the HydroFloat stage;

    • Enabling a peak coarse reject of 43.8% by mass, at 450μm; and

    • Rougher recoveries of 91% for copper and 83% for gold, at 250 μm.

  • Coarse ore flotation may offer numerous benefits for Kharmagtai, including:

    • Reduced power and water intensity per tonne of ore processed;

    • Increased mill capacity and overall plant capacity for an increased production rate;

    • Reduction in consumables, such as grinding media and reagents; and

    • Significant improvement in tailings stability with the production of coarser tails, as well as water recycling at the back end of the plant.

  • HydroFloat provides the opportunity for Kharmagtai to recover valuable minerals in the 150 to 200μm range that processing through conventional flotation alone is unable to perform.

  • More than 70 HydroFloat units are commercially used in global operations, including Australia. The pilot program to date has demonstrated significant potential for HydroFloat, with further mineralogy and pilot tests to be conducted as new samples become available.

Xanadu’s Executive Chairman and Managing Director, Colin Moorhead said:

“These results provide strong support for our Scoping Study uplift scenario using coarse ore flotation to improve overall project economics. This uplift is achieved through increasing throughput and accelerating mining and processing rates which ultimately accelerate revenue generation at Kharmagtai.

It also promises to enhance the environmental sustainability aspects of Kharmagtai through the early separation of barren material and a coarser grind size, allowing for significant reduction in power and water requirements, and better tailings management. Given this separation method has been used successfully by bulk miners for over 20 years, we intend to leverage those learnings at Kharmagtai. We are now working with DRA, our process design engineers, to determine the optimal timing to include HydroFloat in the processing flowsheet, and maximise its beneficial impact for Kharmagtai.”