(TheNewswire)
Toronto – TheNewswire - October 10, 2023: AbraSilver Resource Corp.(TSX.V:ABRA ) ( OTC:ABBRF) (“AbraSilver” or the“Company”) is pleased to reportpositive results from metallurgical optimization testing on the Ocultodeposit at its wholly-owned Diablillos property in Salta Province,Argentina (“Diablillos” or the “Project”). The program wascompleted by independent metallurgical consultants, SGS Canada Inc.,at its testing facilities in Lakefield, Ontario.
The metallurgical testing was conducted as part of theongoing Pre-Feasibility Study ("PFS") for Diablillos, andfurther complements the positive metallurgical results achieved forthe JAC and Fantasma deposits, which were announced on June 1, 2023 .
Key takeaways from the PFS-level metallurgical testwork include:
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Recovery rates at the Oculto deposit are expected torange between 82% - 86% forsilver and 84% - 89% for gold. Theseresults represent a significant increase overthe average recovery rates of 73.5% for silver and 86% for gold usedin the 2022 Preliminary Economic Assessment (“PEA”).
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A substantial percentage of the silver and gold atOculto can be recovered by gravity separation which results in higher recovery rates and lower processing costs .
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Importantly, fine grinding is not necessary with the mostefficient recoveries achieved at a grind size of 150 microns for bothgravity and cyanidation and an optimal retention time of 36 hours.
John Miniotis, President and CEO, commented, “Thesemetallurgical results are extremely positive, and further raise thepotential for a significant improvement in the project economics atour world-class Diablillos project. The ability to recover asubstantial amount of gold and silver through the use of simplegravity separation offers major advantages, by increasing recoveryrates and also lowering the overall processing costs. We lookforward to incorporating these results into our updated MineralResource estimate and PFS, both of which remain on track to bedelivered in the near-future.”
Description of Metallurgical TestWork on Oculto Samples
The latest program involved metallurgical testing offour composites from the Oculto deposit, including gravity separationtesting and cyanidation of the gravity tailings for the recovery ofgold and silver. The composite samples were selected from priorsamples used for metallurgical testing, which are representative offour distinct mineralogical regimes at the Oculto deposit. Thecampaign was designed to supplement and optimize the results fromprior metallurgical test work programs, conducted between 1996 and2021, which formed the basis of the 2022 PEA for the Diablillosproject.
The latest test work demonstrated that gravityseparation can be used before cyanide leaching to recover substantialamounts of silver and gold at Oculto. The overall gold and silverrecoveries achieved by gravity separation followed by cyanidation ofthe gravity tailings are summarized in the table below, and will beincorporated in the upcoming Mineral Resource estimate (“MRE”)update and PFS for the Diablillos project.
Table 1 - Summary of MetallurgicalTestwork Results at Oculto Deposit
Mineralogical Regimes | Total Silver Recoveries | Silver Head Grades | Gravity Recovery | Total Gold Recoveries | Gold Head Grades | Gravity Recovery |
% | g/t Ag | Ag % | % | g/t Au | Au % | |
Shallow gold zone | NM 1 | NM 1 | NM 1 | 88% | 1.10 | 12.3% |
Silver enrichment zone | 86% | 151 | 16.4% | 86% | 1.45 | 16.2% |
Tesoro zone | 83% | 124 | 3.3% | 84% | 2.60 | 8.6% |
Northeast zone | 82% | 77 | 7.5% | 89% | 1.91 |
Note: 1 There was very little silver present in the‘shallow gold zone’ sample, and as a result no meaningful(‘NM’) results are available.
Process Design
The process design for the PFS will consist of aconventional silver/gold processing plant flowsheet incorporatingcrushing, grinding, gravity concentration and intense cyanidationcircuit, cyanide leaching with oxygen addition, counter currentdecantation (“CCD”) washing thickeners and Merrill-Crowe preciousmetal recovery from solution followed by on-site smelting to dorébars.
A summary of the processing flow sheet for theDiablillos project is shown below.
Figure 1 - Process Flowsheet for theDiablillos Project
Upcoming Milestones andCatalysts
Bottle roll and column testing is currently beingconducted to evaluate the viability of heap leaching lower-grademineralized material from the Oculto deposit, with results expected bythe end of the year. It is anticipated that heap leaching somelower-grade material that is not otherwise expected to be incorporatedin the mine plan, could result in increased mineral resources and afurther reduction in the overall strip ratio at Diablillos.
The Company anticipates announcing several significantmilestones over the next few months, including:
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Announcing assay and geophysical survey results fromregional exploration targets at JAC North, Alpaca and Fantasma(October 2023)
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Updated Mineral Resource estimate for the Diablillosproject (late Oct. / early Nov. 2023)
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Bottle roll and column testing results for heap leachprocessing (Q4 2023)
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Pre-Feasibility Study results for the Diablillosproject (January 2024)
About Diablillos
The 80 km 2 Diablillos property is located in theArgentine Puna region - the southern extension of the Altiplano ofsouthern Peru, Bolivia, and northern Chile - and was acquired from SSRMining Inc. by the Company in 2016. There are several known mineralzones on the Diablillos property, with the Oculto zone being the mostadvanced with over 120,000 metres drilled to date. Oculto is ahigh-sulphidation epithermal silver-gold deposit derived from remnanthot springs activity following Tertiarty-age local magmatic andvolcanic activity. Comparatively nearby examples of high sulphidationepithermal deposits include: Yanacocha (Peru); El Indio (Chile);Lagunas Nortes/Alto Chicama (Peru) Veladero (Argentina); and Filo delSol (Argentina).
The most recent Mineral Resource estimate for theOculto Deposit is shown in Table 2:
Table 2 - Oculto Mineral Resource Estimate – As ofOctober 31, 2022
Category | Tonnage (000 t) | Ag (g/t) | Au (g/t) | Contained Ag (000 oz Ag) | Contained Au (000 oz Au) |
Measured | 19,336 | 98 | 0.88 | 60,634 | 544 |
Indicated | 31,978 | 47 | 0.73 | 48,737 | 752 |
Measured & Indicated | 51,314 | 66 | 0.79 | 109,370 | 1,297 |
Inferred | 2,216 | 30 | 0.51 | 2,114 | 37 |
Notes: Effective October 31, 2022. Mineral Resourcesare not Mineral Reserves and have not demonstrated economic viability.The Mineral Resource estimate is N.I. 43-101 compliant and wasprepared by Luis Rodrigo Peralta, B.Sc., FAusIMM CP(Geo), IndependentConsultant. The mineralization estimated in the Mineral Resource issub-horizontal with sub-vertical feeders and a reasonable prospect foreventual economic extraction by open pit methods. For additionalinformation please see Technical Report on the Diablillos Project,Salta Province, Argentina, dated November 28, 2022, completed byMining Plus, and available on www.sedarplus.ca.
QA/QC and Core Sampling Protocols
AbraSilver applies industry standard explorationmethodologies and techniques, and all drill core samples are collectedunder the supervision of the Company’s geologists in accordance withindustry practices. Drill core is transported from the drill platformto the logging facility where drill data is compared and verified withthe core in the trays. Thereafter, it is logged, photographed, andsplit by diamond saw prior to being sampled.Samples are then bagged, and quality control materials are inserted atregular intervals; these include blanks and certified referencematerials as well as duplicate core samples which are collected inorder to measure sample representivity. Groups of samples are thenplaced in large bags which are sealed with numbered tags in order tomaintain a chain-of-custody during the transport of the samples fromthe project site to the laboratory.
All samples are received by the SGS offices in Saltawho then dispatch the samples to the SGS preparation facility in SanJuan. From there, the prepared samples are sent to the SGS laboratoryin Lima, Peru where they are analyzed. All samples are analyzed usinga multi-element technique consisting of a four acid digestion followedby ICP/AES detection, and gold is analyzed by 50g Fire Assay with anAAS finish. Silver results greater than 100 g/t are reanalyzed usingfour acid digestion with an ore grade AAS finish.
Qualified Persons
David O’Connor P.Geo., Chief Geologist forAbraSilver, is the Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects, and he hasreviewed and approved the scientific and technical information in thisnews release.
About AbraSilver
AbraSilver is an advanced-stage exploration companyfocused on rapidly advancing its 100%-owned Diablillos silver-goldproject in the mining-friendly Salta province of Argentina. Thecurrent Measured and Indicated Mineral Resource estimate forDiablillos consists of 51.3 Mt grading 66g/t Ag and 0.79g/t Au,containing approximately 109Moz silver and 1.3Moz gold, withsignificant further upside potential based on recent explorationdrilling. The Company is led by an experienced management team and haslong-term supportive shareholders including Mr. Eric Sprott. Inaddition, AbraSilver owns a portfolio of earlier-stage copper-goldprojects including the La Coipita copper-gold project in the San Juanprovince of Argentina. AbraSilver is listed on the TSX-V under thesymbol “ABRA” and in the U.S. under the symbol “ABBRF”.
For further information please visit the AbraSilverResource website at www.abrasilver.com , our LinkedInpage at , andfollow us on Twitter at
Alternatively please contact:
John Miniotis, President and CEO
Tel: +1 416-306-8334
Cautionary Statements
This news release includes certain"forward-looking statements" under applicable Canadiansecurities legislation. Forward-looking statements are necessarilybased upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, whileconsidered reasonable, are subject to known and unknown risks,uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual resultsand future events to differ materially from those expressed or impliedby such forward-looking statements. All statements that address futureplans, activities, events or developments that the Company believes,expects or anticipates will or may occur are forward-lookinginformation. There can be no assurance that such statements will proveto be accurate, as actual results and future events could differmaterially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly,readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.When considering this forward-looking information, readers should keepin mind the risk factors and other cautionary statements in theCompany’s disclosure documents filed with the applicable Canadiansecurities regulatory authorities on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca. Therisk factors and other factors noted in the disclosure documents couldcause actual events or results to differ materially from thosedescribed in any forward-looking information.The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or reviseany forward-looking statements, whether as a result of newinformation, future events or otherwise, except as required bylaw.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange norits Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in thepolicies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for theadequacy or accuracy of this news release
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