GOLD-SILVER: Braveheart tries ore sorting of Alpine material

BRITISH COLUMBIA – In an effort to boost gold and silver grades ahead of toll milling, Braveheart Resources of Calgary has tested ore sorting of quartz-bearing vein material from its Alpine property near Nelson. The tests were carried out by Steinert U.S. in their Kentucky facility.

Both run-of-mine ore (72 kg) and a composite sample (128 kg) were treated with Steinert’s multi-sensory sorting system (KSS). The machine uses a combination of x-ray transmission (XRT) sensors and laser sensor technology. The XRT sensor divides material by atomic density which correlates with the mineral composition of a sample. The denser material hosts the gold and silver, while the less dense material is discarded. The laser sensor targets the shape and brightness of a particle.

The tested samples ranged in size from +10 mm to –50 mm. During testing the ROM material was up-graded from a feed grade of 14.7 g/t to 20.3 g/t gold with 92.8% gold recovery and 32.7% waste rejection. The composite material was up-graded from a feed grade of 25.4 g/t to 43.2 g/t gold with 81.3% recovery and 52.1% waste rejection.

The Alpine property contains the former mine of the same name and four other historic producers. When it was active, the Alpine mine produced 11,500 oz. of gold and 7,200 oz. of silver, plus lead and zinc. The current NI 43-101 resource for the Alpine mine project is 268,000 tonnes at a grade of 16.5 g/t gold based on 5 g/t cut-off grade.