Dundee Sustainable Technologies partners with top gold miners on groundbreaking non-cyanide mineral extraction

Dundee Sustainable Technologies (DST) is forging partnerships with top gold miners as it commercializes its novel metallurgical processes, which have been proven to reduce leaching time and extract more gold without using toxic materials such as cyanide.

The company has an ongoing agreement with the world’s biggest gold miner, Newmont (NYSE: NEM, TSX: NGT) following a successful test work program for the utilization of DST’s cyanide free gold extraction, known as the CLEVR Process.

Quebec- headquartered Dundee’s CLEVR Process uses a mild bleach solution in fully closed loop, the fast kinetic of the chemical reaction that separates gold from ore, releases gold within about 2 hours versus over 24 hours in traditional cyanide leaching – enabling operators increased efficiency and to eliminate the need for tailings ponds, which lowers cost, risk and environmental impact.

CLEVR uses sodium hypochlorite rather than elemental chlorine, with a catalytic amount of sodium hypobromite in acidic conditions to put the gold into solution. Contact time is short, done at ambient temperature and pressure and all chemicals are recycled within the circuit. Sea water may also be used, DST says.

Gold extraction yields are routinely in excess of 90% while capital and operating costs are competitive with traditional processes. Costs are about $20 per tonne of ore in a 10,000-tonne-per-day direct leach operation. It adds up to increased gold recovery in a fraction of the time.

In December, Dundee Sustainable Technologies’ partner Emerita Resources Corp. (TSX – V: EMO; OTCQB: EMOTF; FSE: LLJA) achieved strong results from its ongoing metallurgical testing program for La Romanera deposit on its Iberian Belt West project, one of the most productive volcanogenic massive sulfide (VMS) terranes, spanning the border from Spain to Portugal, in the world.

“Testing of this post flotation process flow sheet will continue as project engineering accelerates,” Emerita said in a news release.

In the same month, the company collaborated with ESGold Corp (CSE: ESAU | OTC: SEKZF | FSE: Z7D).  Sample tailings from ESGold’s Montauban project in Quebec were sent to Dundee’slab at Thetford Mines for metallurgical testing.

The partnership, the company said, is a critical phase of ESGold’s Gold-Silver Green Processing Initiative, which aligns cutting-edge technologies with sustainable mining practices to maximize resource recovery while minimizing environmental impact.

“Our collaboration with ESGold allows us to showcase the CLEVR Process as a next-generation solution for environmentally responsible mining,” Dundee Sustainable Technologies CEO Jean-Philippe Mai says.

“By achieving superior recovery rates and significantly reducing processing times and environmental liabilities, our technology aligns perfectly with ESGold’s vision. Together, we aim to set new benchmarks for profitable and sustainable resource recovery.”