Vancouver, British Columbia: Gold Reach Resources Ltd. (GRV: TSX-V) (Gold Reach and/or the Company) is pleased to announce results of metallurgical testing conducted on samples from the company’s 100% owned Ootsa Property, located adjacent to the producing Huckleberry Mine south of Smithers, British Columbia.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Excellent Rougher Flotation Recoveries - Rougher concentrates from 3 samples from the Seel deposit have recoveries ranging from 91.7 to 96.8% for copper, 89.8 to 93.9% for molybdenum, and 73.1 to 91.1% for gold.
- Strong Third Cleaner Copper Concentrate Recoveries- Based on only 3 sample reprocessing steps final recoveries in copper concentrate range from 86.4 to 89.5% for copper, 85.8 to 91.6% for molybdenum, and 47 to 69% for gold.
- No Deleterious Elements and no Metallurgical Problems Encountered - The concentrates are clean and do not contain any significant amounts of deleterious elements and no metallurgical difficulties or concerns were encountered during the test work.
Metallurgical Studies
Metallurgical testing was performed by Inspectorate Exploration and Mining Services Ltd. located in Richmond British Columbia, and initial testing was done on 3 samples from the Seel deposit. Each sample was from 2012 drill core and each weighed approximately 150 kg. Sample 1 was from the upper part of the West Seel deposit and contains altered feldspar porphyry with Cu-Au-Mo-Ag mineralization. Sample two was from the lower part of the West Seel deposit and contains the West Seel intrusive with Cu-Au-Mo-Ag mineralization. Sample 3 was from the near surface zone of higher grade Cu-Au mineralization at the East Seel deposit. This zone does not contain molybdenum.
The objective of the metallurgical test work was to characterize grinding characteristics, determine optimal grind size required, and investigate metal recoveries by standard flotation methods. The test work included 30 batch tests, 3 locked cycle tests, and a single molybdenum separation test. The first step was optimizing the rougher flotation circuit. Results of typical rougher circuit testing are shown below and show excellent recovery of Cu, Mo and Au at the rougher flotation stage.
Typical Rougher Circuit Results
| Sample | Grind Size | Feed Grade % Cu | Feed Grade % Mo | Feed Grade g/t Au | Rougher Circuit Recovery % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cu | Au | Mo | |||||
| 1 | 128 | 0.28 | 0.028 | 0.17 | 96.6 | 90.8 | 90.0 |
| 2 | 128 | 0.29 | 0.047 | 0.20 | 93.6 | 73.1 | 92.9 |
| 3 | 127 | 0.42 | 0.0007 | 0.47 | 95.6 | 91.1 | - |
The rougher flotation results represent the maximum metal recoveries obtainable using standard flotation methods for typical porphyry Cu systems. The actual recoveries from a mine scale floatation plant will be lower than the rougher concentrate, as subsequent steps are taken to remove unwanted materials and increase the grade of the final concentrates. Cleaner circuit kinetic tests and locked cycle flotation tests were conducted on rougher concentrates to get an idea of final concentrate grades and predicted metallurgy, using a standard 3 stage cleaning circuit. The results are shown in the table below and show excellent recovery for Cu and Mo with good Au recovery in line with other porphyry Cu systems. Further testing and optimization is anticipated to increase both recoveries and concentrate grades especially for sample 2.
Predicted Third Cleaner Copper Concentrate Results based on Locked Cycle Tests
| Sample | 3rd Cleaner Concentrate | Recovery % | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| % Cu | % Mo | g/t Au | Cu | Mo | Au | |
| 1 | 26.4 | 2.5 | 12.6 | 88.9 | 85.8 | 59.1 |
| 2 | 23.1 | 4.4 | 9.2 | 86.4 | 91.6 | 47.0 |
| 3 | 31.4 | - | 28.1 | 89.5 | - | 69.0 |
Assaying of the final concentrate products shows they are 'clean' with very low trace element concentrations that can pose problems or penalties at smelters (such as As, Sb, Bi, Hg).
A single molybdenum separation test was performed on a concentrate from sample 2 and no optimization was performed due to limited sample material available. Further work is required to properly characterize and optimize the metallurgy of molybdenum. The single test produced a molybdenum concentrate with a grade of 38.5% Mo which also contained 144 ppm rhenium. The presence of elevated rhenium in the molybdenum concentrate is significant as rhenium can be a smelter credit if it occurs in high enough grades.
Dr. Shane Ebert, President of the company stated, "The Company is extremely pleased with these initial metallurgical results which show very good initial recoveries with good potential to further increase recoveries and concentrate grades with additional optimization and testing. No metallurgical problems have been identified and the concentrates do not contain significant deleterious elements. The metallurgy of the Seel deposit appears to be simple and responds well to tired and true industry standard separation techniques. These favorable metallurgical results continue to remove project risk as the company advances the Oota deposit."
Further metallurgy will be done on larger samples in 2013 allowing further optimization and characterization of the metallurgical characteristics of the Seel and Ox deposits.
Plans for 2013
Planning for the 2013 exploration program at Ootsa is underway. The company anticipates a significant drill program focused on infilling and expanding several near surface higher grade zones of mineralization, delineating the full extent of the West Seel deposit which is 800 metres wide and open to the south, testing new exploration targets, and continuing to reduce project risk through metallurgical, engineering, and environmental baseline studies. The 2013 exploration program is anticipated to start in the later part of May. Additional details of the 2013 exploration program will be released as they are finalized.
For more information please see our website at http://goldreachresources.com. All of our recent news releases can be viewed on the Company's website at http://goldreachresources.com/news/2013/.
About Gold Reach Resources
Gold Reach Resources Ltd. has made an important new and strategic Copper Gold Molybdenum discovery on its 100% held Ootsa Property located adjacent to the 16,000 tonne per day Huckleberry Mine currently producing Cu Au and Mo in central BC.
Gold Reach's Ootsa property is an advanced stage exploration project containing the Seel and Ox porphyry systems both with compliant resource estimates open for expansion. The Company has recently added the discovery of the West Seel Porphyry where drill hole S12-118 encountered 128 metres grading 1.01% Cu Eq. consisting of 0.43% Cu, 0.33 g/t Au, 0.076% Mo and 4.76 g/t Ag within a much larger interval of 537 metres grading 0.65% Cu Eq. consisting of 0.27% Cu, 0.19 g/t Au, 0.055% Mo, and 2.69 g/t Ag. The Seel deposit contains 67.8 million tonnes of indicated resources and 410.9 million tonnes of inferred resources at a 0.2% copper equivalent cut off. The Ox deposit contains 52.65 million tonnes of inferred resources at a 0.2% copper equivalent cut off.
The Company is well financed with over $2.9 million dollars in the treasury and holds a 2% NSR covering 23,000 hectares of mining claims located adjacent to the Blackwater Gold deposit in central British Columbia.
Dr. Shane Ebert, P. Geo. is the Qualified Person responsible for the preparation of this news release.
Shane Ebert, President/Director
For Further information, please contact:
Telephone: 604-718-5454
S. Ebert direct line: 250 964-2699
Toll Free: 888-500-4587
http://goldreachresources.com
Or
B&D Capital Partners
Don Mosher
Telephone: 604-685-6465
Don@bdcapital.com
Or
Envoy Strategic Partners
Jay Bedard
t 416-977-7778
jay@envoystrategicpartners.com
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Safe Harbour Statement: The Company relies upon litigation protection for “forward-looking statements.” The Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements in the managements beliefs, estimates obligations or other factors should change.