Lunnon Metals Records Strong Gold Recoveries at Hustler Deposit
Mining & ResourcesLunnon Metals records average gold recoveries of up to 97.3% at Hustler deposit near Lady Herial, boosting development prospects for its WA deposit.Nik HillJournalist · 2 min readIn this storyLM8In…
Lunnon Metals records average gold recoveries of up to 97.3% at Hustler deposit near Lady Herial, boosting development prospects for its WA deposit.
Nik HillJournalist · 2 min readIn this storyLM8In briefAt-a-glance3 takeaways- 01Hustler gold recoveries topped 95% across three samples.
- 0224-hour averages: 96.4% at 150µm; 97.3% at 125µm.
- 03Supports conventional processing and scoping studies.
Lunnon Metals (ASX: LM8) has recorded gold recoveries exceeding 95% across all three metallurgical composite samples from its Hustler deposit in Western Australia after 24 hours of processing.
Testing designed to replicate the nearby Lefroy gold plant achieved average recoveries of 96.4% at a grind size of 150 micrometres (µm) and 97.3% at 125µm.
Gravity recovery alone averaged more than 30% at both grind sizes, with the results indicating that gold extraction is relatively insensitive to the degree of grinding.
The findings provide another technical input for development studies at Hustler, 400 metres southeast of the recently completed Lady Herial open pit in the Foster-Baker project area.
High Recoveries Across Grind Sizes
ALS Metallurgy tested three composites from diamond drill core collected during the June quarter to represent different gold grades and material types within the Hustler mineral resource estimate.
At 150µm, average gold extraction reached 93.9% after 12 hours, 96.4% after 24 hours, and 97.4% after 48 hours, with individual final recoveries ranging from 96.8% to 98.5%.
The finer 125µm grind yielded average recoveries of 95.6% after 12 hours, 97.3% after 24 hours, and 97.6% after 48 hours, with final sample results between 96.7% and 98.6%.
Gravity concentration accounted for an average 32.2% of gold recovery at 150µm and 31.2% at 125µm before the remaining material underwent conventional cyanide leaching.
No adverse metallurgical effects were identified, although the use of St Ives process water produced the expected elevated lime consumption during testing.
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The test program was designed around the processing conditions at the Lefroy plant operated by St Ives Gold Mining (SIGM), a subsidiary of Lunnon’s major shareholder Gold Fields.
Lunnon previously mined more than 300,000 tonnes of ore grading 1.68 grams per tonne of gold at Lady Herial, with the material purchased and processed by SIGM without incident.
Earlier Lady Herial metallurgical testing produced average recoveries of 91.4% after 12 hours and 94.6% after 24 hours at a 150µm grind, while its ore purchase agreement adopted a 91% recovery factor.
The Hustler results exceed that commercial benchmark and support the technical assessment that its mineralisation could be treated through conventional gold processing infrastructure.
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Hustler currently has an MRE of 826,000t at 1.4g/t gold for 36,200 ounces, comprising indicated and inferred resources rather than a declared ore reserve.
Together with the remaining Lady Herial resource, the project area contains a reported 1,415,600t at 1.6g/t for 73,200 ounces, with Lady Herial figures depleted for mining completed in August.
“The technical team at Lunnon has a long history and plenty of experience drilling out, defining, permitting, and mining gold deposits at St Ives—however, we still never take anything for granted, addressing each technical parameter methodically,” managing director Edmund Ainscough said.
“This is a key part of our de-risking process, one that has served us well and helped deliver such a successful outcome at Lady Herial earlier this year.”
Lunnon expects updated MREs for both Hustler and Lady Herial to feed into a scoping study, while continuing geotechnical assessment and considering whether further infill drilling is needed.
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View all latestFigures reflect the source report and its stated period. This article is for information and is not investment advice.
