Chemical technologies firm Draslovka announced Tuesday that its subsidiary Encore Minerals has entered into an agreement with Poseidon Nickel (ASX: POS) to retreat and monetize gold and nickel tailings in Western Australia.
Under this agreement, Draslovka will apply its proprietary glycine leaching technology (GLT), comprising the GlyCat process for precious metals and GlyLeach process for base metals, to extract value from tailings at Poseidon’s Windarra property, and potentially a third-party tailings resource at nearby Lancefield (together, the Windarra tailings project).
Previous metallurgical test work for the Windarra tailings project had shown potential improvement in recoveries and costs for the site’s gold resources. The test work also established the potential for a technical, economically viable and low-intensity process for recovery of nickel from nickel tailings, the company said.
A previous feasibility study for the gold resource using conventional cyanidation showed net operating cashflow of A$30.6 million, net present value (at 8% discount) of A$21.7 million and an internal rate of return of 50.6%, assuming a gold price of A$2,500/oz ($1,629).
The next step is to undertake a technical program to optimize the project with both the gold and nickel resources, which will lead to an updated feasibility study and a final investment decision. If successful, the project will lead to the construction of the first GLT processing plant for tailings.
“We are excited to play an integral role in enabling the retreatment of the gold and nickel tailings at the Windarra tailings project by supplying GLT, which has been developed to extract precious and base metals,” Ivor Bryan, Draslovka Mining Process Solutions chief technology officer, said in a news release.
“GLT is revolutionary for the mining industry,” Bryan continued. “It has the potential to save mining companies billions of dollars by significantly reducing processing costs, enhancing a mine’s sustainability profile, extending mine life by lowering the cut-off grade and unlocking value hidden in a mine’s tailings.
“I believe the results at Windarra will be a powerful example of how GLT is a simple yet very effective means to retreat and monetize tailings.”