Wrap Text
Metallurgical Results at Toral and Operational Update
Europa Metals Ltd
(Incorporated and registered in Australia and registered as
an external company in the Republic of South Africa)
(Registration number 4459850)
(External company registration number 2011/116305/10)
Share code on the ASX: EUZ
Share code on AIM: EUZ
Share code on the JSE: EUZ
ISIN: AU0000014342
("Europa Metals" or “the Company”)
Further Highly Encouraging Metallurgical Results at Toral and
Operational Update
Europa Metals, the European focused lead, zinc and silver developer, is pleased to
announce highly encouraging results from its comprehensive metallurgical testwork
programme and an update on its resource drilling campaign at its wholly owned Toral
lead, zinc and silver project in the Castilla y León region, Spain (“Toral” or the “Toral
Project”).
Highlights:
• Metallurgical testwork results received from Wardell Armstrong International Ltd
(“WAI”) in respect of locked cycle flotation tests (“LCT”) on products from an ore
sorted bulk siliceous sample
- Concentrate Grades 56.6% Zinc 69.6% Lead
- Overall recovery (Sort & Float) 78.6% Zinc 80.7% Lead
• Metallurgical results received for LCT from WAI on a further two carbonate samples
from:
Hole TOD-025D:
- Concentrate Grades 57.4% Zinc 75.2% Lead
- Overall recovery (Sort & Float) 81.4% Zinc 94.4% Lead
Hole TOD-028:
- Concentrate Grades 60.3% Zinc 64.1% Lead
- Overall recovery (Sort & Float) 84.0% Zinc 87.3% Lead
• Resource drilling ongoing
- Following a delay to the start of the current campaign, progress has been
impacted by drilling personnel contracting COVID-19
- Hole TOD-041 has been completed with mineralisation being intersected at
the planned target depth
- Hole TOD-042 drilling is underway and currently at 280m with a target depth
of approximately 900m
- Rig is now operating on a double shift basis in order to seek to catch up with
the original programme schedule
Commenting today, Myles Campion, Executive Chairman and acting CEO of
Europa Metals, said:
“We have been busy so far this year on all fronts, including the recent completion of our
metallurgical testwork campaign with WAI which achieved excellent results from both the
upper siliceous zone and the lower carbonate zone.
“Lead and zinc recoveries to respective concentrates are very good. Ore sorting has
played a part in lifting these recoveries (zinc to zinc concentrate by approximately 4
percentage points and lead to lead concentrate by approximately 3 percentage points,
versus the previous results on unsorted ore) which is highly encouraging. The grades
achieved for both Zinc and Lead are better than previous results, with the siliceous
showing that the upper levels can also produce a high-grade concentrate.
“I am also pleased with our ongoing drill programme, albeit there is some catching up
still to do, which will aim to prove up further indicated resources at depth.”
Metallurgical Testwork: Ore Sorting followed by Froth Flotation of Ore Sort
Concentrates
Samples from Ore Sorting undertaken by Tomra GmbH, were submitted to WAI earlier
this year. The samples tested were a bulk sample of siliceous style mineralisation and
two borehole composites of carbonate style mineralisation. The siliceous sample was a
composite of intersections from boreholes TOD-029, TOD-029D, TOD-029D2, TOD-
029D3, TOD-034 and TOD-034D (a total of 701.09 kg). The carbonate samples were
taken from boreholes TOD-025D and TOD-028 (96.36 kg and 50.7 kg respectively).
The ore sorting results announced previously by the Company in March 2022 were as
follows:
Siliceous bulk sample
• Recovery of 95.7% Pb and 94.3% Zn metal
• 43.7% mass rejection of waste
Carbonate composite from hole TOD-025D
• Recovery of 98.9% Pb and 94.7% Zn metal
• 46.8% mass rejection of waste
Carbonate composite from hole TOD-028
• Recovery of 96.6% Pb and 96.1% Zn metal
• 47.7% mass rejection of waste
The sorter products were the subject of the recently completed campaign of locked cycle
flotation with the metallurgical results received from WAI comprising:
• Siliceous bulk sample
- Flotation Recoveries 83.4% Zinc 84.3% Lead
- Flotation Concentrate Grades 56.6% Zinc 69.6% Lead
- Overall recovery (Sort & Float) 78.6% Zinc 80.7% Lead
• Carbonate sample from hole TOD-025D
- Flotation Recovery 85.9% Zinc 95.4% Lead
- Flotation Concentrate Grades 57.4% Zinc 75.2% Lead
- Overall recovery (Sort & Float) 81.4% Zinc 94.4% Lead
• Carbonate sample from hole TOD-028
- Flotation Recovery 87.4% Zinc 90.3% Lead
- Flotation Concentrate Grades 60.3% Zinc 64.1% Lead
- Overall recovery (Sort & Float) 84.0% Zinc 87.3% Lead
Comparison with the 2019 locked cycle flotation tests on carbonate drill core
Locked cycle flotation tests simulate a full-scale plant flowsheet. Each test at WAI’s
facilities was conducted in a series of six cycles using the flowsheet shown in Figure 1
below. For the second and subsequent cycles, lead and zinc cleaner tailings products
were combined with the feed to the previous stage of flotation. For example, lead second
cleaner tails were returned to first cleaner feed. The final concentrates, zinc scavenger
tailings and zinc rougher tailings from the final two cycles, were weighed and sent for
independent analysis. The results were then used to calculate recovery and concentrate
grades.
Figure 1:
Locked Cycle Test Flowsheet (file can be viewed on the following link:
http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/8339U_1-2022-8-3.pdf
Results of the 2019 and 2022 testwork programmes are summarised in Table 1
below. These results indicate that Toral could clearly achieve excellent
concentrate grades.
Table 1:
Summarised Results of the 2019 and 2022 Testwork
(Note: recovery and concentration data are from the original feed)
Test Lead Concentrate Zinc Concentrate
Lead CR Conc Zinc CR Conc
Recovery (% Pb) Recovery (% Zn)
(%) (%)
2019 Carbonate 84.3 39.4 57.5 70.7 29.8 55.8
LCT1 Float
2019 Carbonate 83.7 34.9 60.0 77.0 24.9 59.1
LCT2 Float
2022 94.4 18.8 75.2 81.4 42.3 57.4
Carbonate 025D
Sort + Float
2022 87.3 51.4 64.1 84.0 24.0 60.3
Carbonate 028
Sort + Float
2022 Silicate 80.7 59.7 69.6 78.6 52.9 56.6
Sort + Float
Ore sorting and froth flotation are processes that concentrate and recover metal values.
The concentration ratio (“CR”) is defined as the weight of feed divided by the weight of
concentrate. Performance of an individual test can be judged in terms of recovery and
CR. For an operating plant, daily results for recovery and CR continually vary. However,
the results generally form a trend when plotted on axes of recovery versus CR. The
same type of plot can be useful in comparing locked cycle test results.
Figure 2:
Zinc Recovery vs Concentration Ratio Plot of LCT Results (file can be viewed on the
following link:
http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/8339U_1-2022-8-3.pdf
Overall results for zinc recovery (for 2022, sort & float and for 2019, just float) are
shown in Figure 2. At any given CR, higher recovery indicates improved
performance, and figure 2 illustrates that the combined sort plus float procedure
has given better performance than flotation alone for the zinc concentrate.
In respect of the 2022 results, the best estimate of zinc recovery is the trendline shown
in Figure 2, which is “a least squares fit” for the three different testwork data points. This
line intersects the recovery axis at 89.7%.
This intercept incorporates for zinc metal losses during the sorting process of 3.9% and
also a recovery loss during the flotation process of a further 6.4% of zinc to lead
concentrate.
The equation of the trend line is as follows:
Recovery % = 89.7 - (0.21 * CR)
In practice, when a full-scale plant and concentrator are in operation the aim is to produce
a saleable zinc concentrate grade of approximately 55% to 60% Zn. To achieve this
target concentrate grade, the required concentration ratio (and achievable recovery)
depends mainly on the headgrade from the deposit.
At Toral, the average resource grade (October 2021 Resource Estimate, @ 4% Zn
equivalent cut off) is 3.9% zinc, such that a future potential processing plant could
operate at a CR of 17 to zinc concentrate, which would achieve a zinc recovery of 86.1%
and a concentrate grade of 57.1% zinc.
An approximate estimate of the zinc recovery improvement resulting from sorting can be
made from Figure 2. Projecting the two points from the 2019 testwork back to a CR of
17 and then comparing with the best estimate of recovery trendline indicates a recovery
improvement of approximately 4 percentage points.
Figure 3:
Lead Recovery vs Concentration Ratio Plot of LCT Results (file can be viewed on
the following link:
http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/8339U_1-2022-8-3.pdf
Overall results for lead recovery (for 2022, sort & float and for 2019, just float) are shown
in Figure 3, with the combined sort plus float procedure again giving better performance
than flotation alone.
In respect of the 2022 results, the best estimate of lead recovery is the trendline shown
in Figure 3, which is “a least squares fit” for the three testwork data points, intersecting
the recovery axis at 97.4%. This intercept allows for the average loss of lead during
sorting of 2.6% and the equation of the trend line is as follows:
Recovery % = 97.4 - (0.24 * CR)
In practice, a concentrator would seek to produce a saleable lead concentrate grade of
approximately 70% lead. The average resource grade at Toral (October 2021 Resource
Estimate) is 2.7% lead, such that a CR of 29 to lead concentrate would be required to
achieve a lead recovery of 90.4% and a concentrate grade of 70.8% lead.
An approximate estimate of the lead recovery improvement resulting from sorting can be
made from Figure 2. Projecting the two points from the 2019 testwork back to a CR of
29 and then comparing with the best estimate of recovery trendline indicates a recovery
improvement of approximately 3 percentage points.
In summary, the Europa Metals’ team believes that ore sorting followed by flotation has
significant cost, performance and operational advantages compared with flotation alone.
The Company will now consider how best to utilise ore sorter rejects and flotation tailings.
These waste products will be valuable as potential cemented aggregate backfill and
paste fill for underground mining operations. Some tailings products could also be used
as landfill for reclamation of an existing quarry.
Analysis of Final Concentrates Produced in the 2022 Locked Cycle Testwork
Final zinc and lead concentrates from the 2022 testwork were sent for detailed chemical
analyses. The analyses for commonly applied penalty elements are shown in Table 2
below. The concentrates were generally below penalty levels except for mercury. High
mercury levels are common for Spanish zinc concentrates and local smelters are able to
manage such feeds. As an alternative, a future plant at Toral could incorporate a
concentrate treatment process in order to reduce the mercury to below penalty levels.
Table 2:
Penalty Element Analyses of Concentrates Produced in the 2022 Testwork
Concentrate As Bi Cd Fe Mg Mn Hg F (ppm)
From (ppm) (pp (ppm) (%) (%) (ppm) (ppm)
Testwork m)
Siliceous 513 2.6 87 4.32 0.08 80 234 120
Lead Conc
Siliceous 104 0.2 1,325 2.72 0.06 120 2,970 40
Zinc Conc
Carbonate 80 2.6 60.8 1.04 0.29 60 96 <20
025D Lead
Conc
Carbonate 33 0.1 1,445 1.83 0.28 70 1,745 30
025D Zinc
Conc
Carbonate 212 7.9 177.5 5.6 0.17 60 197 30
028 Lead
Conc
Carbonate 16 0.1 1,635 1.75 0.08 50 1,085 20
028 Zinc
Conc
Penalty 2,000 200 2,500 8% 0.18% 5,000 50 200
Level for
Zinc Conc
Resource Drilling
Following an initial delay to the arrival of the rig on site due to increased exploration
activity and therefore rig demand in Spain, the first hole, TOD-041, has recently been
completed. Hole TOD-041 intersected mineralisation at its target depth, whilst drilling of
hole TOD-042 has commenced and is advancing well, as the rig contractor is operating
on a double shift, and is currently at 280m with a target depth of approximately 900m.
The objective of this ongoing campaign is to seek to extend the indicated resource at
depth towards the east of the current zone and link up a known area of encouraging
data. If successful, this will add tonnes to the envisaged future mining plan. Additionally,
all holes are being geotechnically evaluated as we drill, thereby providing additional
information for the feasibility study process.
This drilling campaign will also complete our R&D collaboration project with the Centre
for the Development of Industrial Technology (CDTI) which will conclude later this year.
Competent Person’s statement
The information contained in this announcement that relates to exploration activities is
based upon information compiled by Evan Kirby, Non-Executive Director of Europa
Metals. Dr Kirby is a Fellow of the Southern African Institute for Mining and Metallurgy
and has sufficient experience which is relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of
deposit under consideration and to the activity being undertaken to qualify as a
Competent Person as defined in the December 2012 edition of the “Australasian Code
for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves” (JORC
Code). Dr Kirby consents to the inclusion in this announcement of the matters based
upon the information in the form and context in which it appears.
For further information on the Company, please visit www.europametals.com or contact:
Europa Metals Ltd
Dan Smith, Non-Executive Director and Company Secretary (Australia)
T: +61 417 978 955
Myles Campion, Executive Chairman and acting CEO (UK)
T: +44 (0)20 3289 9923
Strand Hanson Limited (Nominated Adviser)
Rory Murphy/Matthew Chandler
T: +44 (0)20 7409 3494
WH Ireland Limited (Broker)
Harry Ansell/Dan Bristowe/Katy Mitchell/Sarah Mather
T: +44 (0)20 7220 1666
JSE Sponsor to Europa Metals
Questco Corporate Advisory Proprietary Limited
Sharon Owens
T: +27 (11) 011 9212
4 August 2022
The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Company to constitute inside
information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) No. 596/2014 as it forms part of United
Kingdom domestic law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018, as amended.
Date: 04-08-2022 08:00:00
Produced by the JSE SENS Department. The SENS service is an information dissemination service administered by the JSE Limited ('JSE').
The JSE does not, whether expressly, tacitly or implicitly, represent, warrant or in any way guarantee the truth, accuracy or completeness of
the information published on SENS. The JSE, their officers, employees and agents accept no liability for (or in respect of) any direct,
indirect, incidental or consequential loss or damage of any kind or nature, howsoever arising, from the use of SENS or the use of, or reliance on,
information disseminated through SENS.
Sharenet Sites 
