Novo Resources Corp. has entered into a commercial arrangement with SGS Minerals of Perth, Western Australia, to secure access to a test plant for the processing of 5 tonne bulk samples from its Karratha Gold Project.
SGS is a leading service provider to the global mining and minerals industry. The Company’s previous news releases have described the nuggety nature of mineralisation at Purdy’s Reward and Comet Well. In gold systems containing a high nugget effect, the statistical impact of this means that a relatively large sample size is required to ensure the resultant assay grade is better representative of the surrounding material. In ongoing trenching works at the Company’s Karratha gold project, Novo will be excavating a series of 5 tonne bulk samples. Samples to date have mostly been in the range of around 300kg. Processing of these sample sizes through conventional laboratories has proven time consuming and costly and provides indicative grades only for each sample. As Novo comes to grips with analysing this unique style of gold mineralisation, the Company has been working to continually improve its sampling and analysis processes, hence the focus on investigating cost effective and timely alternative solutions to obtaining the grade of the bulk sample material. Faster turnaround times will be invaluable for the exploration team in the field, with a more rapid feedback loop significantly improving the understanding of gold concentrations relative to geological features.
The test plant is an upgraded version of a fit for purpose and pre-existing test plant in Perth, Western Australia, which has been previously utilized for sample analysis (see Figure 1 below). The test plant essentially consists of a comminution circuit followed by gravity separation processes, generating a series of gold concentrates for subsequent assay. Works will be overseen by the existing scrutineering regime in an ISO 9001 accredited laboratory environment, ensuring sample integrity from the field to the plant, with all analysis completed at the SGS Laboratory facility in Perth. The plant has been specifically designed to preserve and analyse gold particle sizing for use in geostatistical analysis. Five tonne samples will be transported from Karratha to the test plant, where it is expected that up to 3 samples per week will be processed, with an expected 4-week turnaround time to receive grade results. This is significantly faster than the circa 8 week turnaround experienced to date.
“Establishing this test plant facility is expected to be a game changer for our exploration efforts at Karratha,” commented Mr. Rob Humphryson, CEO and a director of Novo. “Having a fit-for-purpose, certified test plant suited to ascertaining the head grade of larger-sized samples whilst also providing gold deportment information is key to gaining a better understanding of the Karratha gold project.”
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 12,000 sq km.