Filo Mining Corp reported that the Board of Directors has approved the commissioning of an independent Preliminary Economic Assessment («PEA») of the Filo del Sol copper-gold-silver project, located along the border between Chile and Argentina.
The Company has hired SRK Consulting (Canada) Inc. to lead the study which will be based on the updated mineral resource estimate released on August 21, 2017 and will contemplate open-pit mining and heap leach processing of the oxide portion of the resource. The PEA is expected to be completed by the first quarter of 2018.
Adam Lundin, President and CEO of Filo Mining remarked, «We’re liking what we see at Filo del Sol – a significant increase in resources with a 98% conversion from inferred to indicated; excellent preliminary metallurgical test results; distinct gold oxide, copper-gold oxide, and silver zones that appear amenable to heap leach processing; and excellent exploration upside remaining. So far, all indications are pointing in the right direction and now is the time to move the project ahead to the next step with a Preliminary Economic Assessment.»
The Filo Board has also approved a work program for the 2017/2018 field season during the South American summer. This program is designed to collect sufficient data to allow for the completion of a Pre-Feasibility Study during 2018, contingent on the recommendations from the PEA. Field work will include reverse circulation and diamond drilling for resource conversion, metallurgical sample collection and geotechnical information, as well as infrastructure site investigations and ongoing environmental studies.
The company also announced positive results from the ongoing metallurgical testwork program on oxide mineralization from the Filo del Sol copper-gold-silver project. A comprehensive program has been underway throughout 2017 based on samples collected during the 2017 field program, including four bulk samples collected from surface exposures of the deposit. The objective of the program is to confirm the previously reported bottle roll leach results under column leaching conditions, and help guide the determination of optimum processing options for the project.
In the Gold Oxide zone at Filo del Sol, gold and silver extraction was 92.8% and 69.8% respectively, with very little difference noted between crush sizes (leach kinetics were rapid, with over 90% gold recovery in the first 15 days). Meanwhile, in the Copper-Gold Oxide zone at Filo del Sol, highlights include: recovery averaged 81.9% copper from acid leaching, followed by 86.7% gold and 70.8% silver from cyanide leaching, with little difference noted between crush sizes (leach kinetics were rapid, with approximately 80% copper recovery in the first 15 days of acid leaching, and over 80% gold recovery in the first 15 days of cyanide leaching).
«These early metallurgical column test results confirm our belief that heap leach processing at Filo del Sol is an attractive option,» commented Adam Lundin, President and CEO of Filo Mining. «We are planning to collect additional metallurgical samples during the 2017/2018 field season for variability column testing and to follow-up on some unique opportunities identified. Investigating these opportunities, along with confirming and optimizing the already excellent results, will be the focus of our testwork program moving forward.«
