Manas Resources (ASX: MSR) is focused on exploring and developing the company's wholly owned gold projects on the Tien Shan gold belt in the Kyrgyz Republic.
Manas is the largest and most active gold explorer in the Kyrgyz Republic, with its projects covering 4,408 square kilometres. The company has a resource base of 1.25 million ounces at the Shambesai and Obdilla gold projects.
Manas Resources shares rise on gold recovery test results from Shambesai deposit
Manas Resources (ASX: MSR) has reported on initial gold recovery results from first-stage metallurgical testwork conducted on three representative diamond drill holes at the highgrade 390,000-ounce Shambesai gold Mineral Resource area, located in the Kyrgyz Republic, Central Asia.
Based on the initial fine and coarse ore bottle roll leach tests, independent analysis has concluded that the Shambesai oxide mineralised zone is amenable to both heap leaching and conventional CIL technologies with excellent recoveries and leach kinetics.
Manas have now engaged independent consultants to commence a scoping study with the view to assessing the potential to establish an oxide mining operation at Shambesai. As part of this process a resource upgrade for Shambesai is due next quarter and processing options are being investigated.
The company said total recoveries from the metallurgical testwork were in excess of 95% for the oxide composite sample using laboratory scale conventional CIL technologies, at a grind size P80 of 75µm, and a 3.40g/t gold head grade.
Also gold leach recoveries for the mineralised oxide samples appear to be independent of grind size as gold leach recovery was only 0.8% higher at a finer grind size of 106µm, and leach recoveries were rapid, with greater than 90 per cent of gold recovered after only one hour of leaching; plus reagents consumption was low.
Three large-diameter (HQ) metallurgical drill holes were completed into the central and eastern zones of the Shambesai Mineral Resource area to obtain representative samples of the oxide, transitional and sulphide (fresh rock) zones.
These three metallurgical holes verified the extensive high-grade central portion of the Shambesai Mineral Resource returning 36m at 6.32g/t gold from 48m and 8.7m at 16.8g/t gold from 8m.
The first stage of the laboratory scale metallurgical testwork is being undertaken by independent laboratory AMMTEC in Perth, Western Australia, under the supervision of an independent metallurgical consultant on composite ore-grade samples prepared from intervals selected to be representative of the weathering of each mineralised zone.
The gold grades for the oxide, transitional and sulphide composite samples which underwent
metallurgical testing were 3.04g/t gold, 5.40g/t gold and 7.63 g/t gold respectively.
The grade for the oxide zone proved to be representative of the current grade for the oxide resource. The oxide zone was subjected to a series of metallurgical tests, including gravity, whole ore cyanidation leach testing and coarse cyanidation leach tests.
Manas is expecting to receive final assay results from the 15,000m drilling program completed in December 2009 shortly, while an updated resource for the Shambesai prospect is expected in the June 2010 Quarter. Scoping Studies will progress using the updated resource for Shambesai.
Manas Resources shares rose 17% to 11 cents in early trading today.
