Titan Minerals Limited (“Titan”) is pleased to announce that initial metallurgical testwork on sulphide ore from its 100%-owned Dynasty Gold Project in southern Ecuador has confirmed excellent gold and silver recoveries using conventional processing methods, delivering a significant technical milestone as the Company progresses toward development studies.
Dynasty Gold Project showing locations of metallurgical samples in relation to Mineral Resources and epithermal veins. Image Credit: Titan Minerals Limited
Key Highlights
- >90% gold recovery achieved through conventional processes including flotation, oxidation, and cyanidation.
- Flotation testwork produced a rougher concentrate with 94% gold and 95% silver recovery from a 2.13 g/t Au, 16 g/t Ag composite sample.
- Oxidation and cyanidation of concentrate resulted in 97% gold recovery, enabling overall recovery of 91% for gold.
- Clean, saleable concentrate (10% of feed mass) produced at ~24 g/t gold and ~180 g/t silver, suitable for direct sale to smelters.
- Gravity circuit not required, with gravity recoverable gold found to be <10%.
Metallurgical Testwork Overview
Initial diagnostic testwork was conducted on a sulphide composite sample comprised of material from the Cerro Verde and Iguana deposits, which together host the majority of Dynasty’s 3.1Moz gold resource. The testwork was overseen by Auralia Metallurgy in Perth under the guidance of metallurgist Ivan Hunter of Scott Dalley Franks Pty Ltd.
Key findings include:
- Rougher flotation recoveries of up to 95% for gold and 98% for silver, at grind sizes between P80 75µm and 150µm.
- A cleaner flotation stage could yield a high-grade, low-arsenic concentrate suitable for sale to third-party smelters.
- Oxidation via autoclave achieved >99% oxidation within 120 minutes, followed by leaching that returned gold recoveries above 96%.
- Gravity concentration confirmed minimal recoverable gold, indicating that gravity circuits are not essential for processing Dynasty ores.
It’s satisfying to show that conventional gold processing techniques can be applied to all Dynasty ores with excellent overall recoveries. This is a significant milestone and a key de-risking step as we consider the commencement of development studies at the end of our current resource drilling program.
The Dynasty Gold Project represents a significant pre-development opportunity, boasting a large-scale (and growing) 3.1 Moz gold resource, set to take advantage of the current and future buoyant gold price environment.
Melanie Leighton, CEO, Titan Minerals Limited
Next Steps
- Continued metallurgical testing to support process optimization and flowsheet design.
- Resource definition drilling continues, with an updated Mineral Resource Estimate expected mid-2025.
- Scoping and development studies to follow, incorporating metallurgical and mining data.
The Dynasty Gold Project comprises five contiguous concessions across 139 km2 and includes a JORC 2012 Mineral Resource of 3.1 Moz gold and 22 Moz silver. Mineralisation occurs within an extensive epithermal vein system, with demonstrated potential for porphyry copper-gold at depth. The Project benefits from existing environmental permits and proximity to infrastructure.