‘Better, Bigger and More Exciting’: Golden Mile recovers 4.5pc nickel from testwork, unearths bonus gold at flagship Quicksilver

Metallurgical testing at the flagship 6Mt Quicksilver nickel-cobalt project in WA is indicating opportunities for producing a range of high-value concentrates
Simple low-cost gravity techniques generated nickel-rich concentrates grading up to 4.5% along with a hint at an undiscovered gold source
Infill drilling will kick off soon, followed by a resource update

Golden Mile Resources’ geometallurgical understanding of Quicksilver is steaming along with nickel-rich mica concentrates up to 4.5% nickel successfully generated from simple gravity techniques.

Golden Mile’s (ASX:G88) Quicksilver project, about 300km south of Perth near Lake Grace, is a 23.6Mt oxide clay hosted nickel-cobalt deposit with some rare earths and scandium on the side.

G88 has been advancing Stage 3 metallurgical test work programs and quickly progressing towards a scoping study, the first proper look at the economics of building a project.

Adding to its business case are some primary rare earths targets at the project site, which indicate a potential carbonatite source for the significant oxide clay-hosted REE mineralisation.

Metallurgical testing at Quicksilver

Stage 3 metallurgical test work on Quicksilver kicked off earlier this year to de-risk the process flowsheet and provide the confidence to proceed to a scoping study.

G88 also plans to incorporate additional studies to explore downstream options to produce secondary nickel products suitable for EV batteries as well as high-value industrial products, which may add further value.

Eight diamond core samples weighing 48-92kg have been used for testing and are considered indicative of the range of nickel mineralisation identified at the Quicksilver resource.

This metallurgical test work update provides a summary of the key outcomes from part B, which focused on evaluating gravity separation, cleaning magnetic concentrates, generating clean mica concentrates for downstream work and separating and assaying dark blackish rocks observed in the scrub oversize.

SEM investigation showing nickel and iron precipitation and within the mica (vermiculite) sheets. Pic via Golden Mile

‘Undiscovered gold source nearby’  

Encouraging nickel-rich mica concentrates grading up to 4.5% nickel have been successfully generated using simple gravity techniques. These show nickel, iron and chromium are significantly enriched within an oxide precipitate associated with the mica minerals.

A low silica magnetic iron concentrate of 0.64% Ni, 54.1% Fe and 10.7% Cr has also been demonstrated at bench scale with scale-up testing under way to generate preliminary marketing samples.

Meanwhile, selected dark manganese-rich rocks after scrubbing returned high cobalt grades of 0.4-1.4% and Golden Mile is now further investigating the potential for a cobalt-rich product.

Gold grades of 0.1-2.3 g/t have been returned in gravity table concentrates from all eight diamond core composite samples tested.

In addition to the by-product revenue potential, G88 says it is also an indication of an undiscovered gold source nearby.

4.5% nickel: ‘Desirable for many potential uses’

“The more we have tested the more opportunities have been defined for developing the Quicksilver project,” G88 managing director Damon Dormer says.

“We have moved from 2-3% nickel on the mica to now achieving up to 4.5% and our iron concentrate is very low in silica, which is desirable for many potential uses including an input to stainless steel.”

Dormer added the gold grades were a surprise and very encouraging, especially as gold was returned from all the composites tested.

“This simply adds another dimension to the potential revenue streams as well as demonstrates the broader gold prospectivity of the project,” he says.

“The metallurgical testing at Quicksilver continues to further demonstrate, with increasing confidence, the potential for several commodities for direct sale and/or further downstream processing.

“This is extremely exciting and provides us with many options as we head into our scoping study.”

Looking ahead

“We have orientation and infill drilling to come soon, followed by a resource update, and with the additional metallurgical testing we see Quicksilver getting better, bigger and more exciting,” Dormer says.

 

This article was developed in collaboration with Golden Mile Resources, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.

This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.

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