Alaskan gold seeker Felix Gold Ltd (ASX: FXG) has seen its shares soar 55.3 percent on news that initial leaching work to test gold recovery from its NW Array prospect has pulled up average grades of 90 percent.
Thirty representative samples were put through a process of 24-hour bottle roll leach test work, with initial results showing that not only is the gold free milling and recoverable by cyanide, but that Felix could grab average gold recovery of 90 percent from samples of oxidised materials found only 50 metres below the surface.
On top of that, some oxidised samples – taken from course rejects from a program of reverse circulation drilling at NW Array – allowed for 94.5 percent recovery.
Felix Gold’s executive director Joe Webb said this was good news ahead of Felix’s plan to release its first mineral resource estimate for the prospect later this year.
“As we celebrate the impressive gold recoveries averaging 90% from our North West Array Bottle Roll tests, our focus sharpens on finalizing the initial maiden resource for the NW Array Prospect in Q2 2024 and advancing the growth of our Grant Mine, a prime brownfields resource expansion opportunity,” he said.
“We’re laying the groundwork for continuous resource expansion and economic studies in a gold-rich locale, bolstered by existing infrastructure and the proximity of Kinross Gold Corporation’s Fort Knox Gold Mine, which actively seeks additional ore supply.
“We envision the pending maiden resource at NW Array Prospect to set the platform to build towards the profile of Kinross Gold’s Gill-Sourdough Mine, which boasted an NI (National Instrument) -43-101 Measured and Indicated Resource of 533 kilo ounces Koz at 0.55 grams per tonne gold, that has been a vital ore source for Fort Knox Gold Mine for the past 2 years.
“This complements our Grant Mine, representing a lucrative brownfields resource expansion
opportunity, along with our extensive district-scale land package, all aligned with our sustained objectives of identifying, growing and commercializing economic ore deposits.”
Felix’s NW Array and Grant mine are both located 20 minutes by road from the company’s base of operations in Fairbanks City, a hub which is often compared to the state’s version of Kalgoorlie.
Felix has been trading at 7.3 cents.