Science & Technology
Science and Technology
Science and Technology
Mon, October 5, 2009 General Metals Corporation : General Metals Achieves up to 84.3% Gold Recovery in Metallurgical Test Results for Hill Zone at
RENO, NV--(Marketwire - October 5, 2009) - General Metals Corporation (the "Company") ( Test Results Suggest Improved Economics: All test results to date suggest that expensive crushing can be minimized and that Carbon column recovery may be a less expensive processing solution than the previously discussed Merrill Crowe system. Project economics may have improved substantially with these results. Tests Proceed to Column Testing Due to the highly successful results of this work the Company has instructed McClelland to proceed immediately with a large diameter column leach test on the Hill Zone. McClelland will be conducting additional analytical and characterization work to better characterize the leach parameters to optimize leach results for the large diameter column leach in the South Zone. Due to the exceptional recovery in the coarse fractions of the bottle rolls, column leach tests of each sample will be conducted at 2 and 6 inch. The Company is highly optimistic that like the bottle roll tests, the columns will show excellent recovery with little difference between feed sizes. The Company believes gold is very late if not the last mineral event to occur and is deposited on open fractures and micro fractures. Because there is no subsequent mineral event which could seal these fractures, leach solutions are easily able to penetrate them and extract the gold values. Silver extraction was also remarkably unaffected by feed size in all but the 10 mesh size fraction which consistently showed increased solubility in the fine 10 mesh feed size. This indicates silver mineralization may be independent of gold mineralization and that the finer crushing in the 10 mesh allowed better solution access to the silver resulting in the higher silver recovery in this fraction. Test work consisted of bulk multiple 96 hour bottle roll tests on the two bulk samples each of which weighed approximately 2 1/2 tons. Each bulk sample was collected under the supervision of McClelland personnel, sealed in clean steel drums and delivered to the laboratory. Once in the laboratory, each sample was homogenized and representative subsamples split for further testing. Subsamples for the bottle rolls were then subdivided into four separate samples which were then crushed to 2 inch, 1 inch, 1/2 inch and 10 mesh nominal crush size such that four bottle rolls were conducted for each of the two bulk samples, resulting in 8 bottle rolls in total. The material was then leached for 96 hours in a solution containing 1 gram of cyanide per liter of solution. Solution samples were collected at 2, 6, 24, 48, 72 and 96 hours and sufficient reagents added to make up for those consumed in the chemical reactions since the previous sample interval. The leach tests were terminated at 96 hours and the data tabulated. Bottle roll tests such as these are a key step in the metallurgical study of ores and is in keeping the Company's use of industry "best practices" approach in its operations as it moves forward to feasibility and production at the Independence. These tests provide important information as to appropriate crush size, reagent consumption and the extraction of gold and silver in preparation for the large diameter column tests on these bulk samples. These initial metallurgical results, which will be refined further by the on-going test work including bulk column leach tests, indicate excellent recovery is possible in a heap leach and that the Company will be able to use low cost heap leaching to treat the surface oxide mineralization. The relative gold and silver concentrations in the solutions further suggests the Company may be able to use highly efficient and cost effective carbon columns in lieu of the more costly and labor intensive Merrill - Crowe process to recover gold and silver from the working solutions. Further details regarding the Independence mineralization, drilling efforts, both historical and recent and current permitting activity are available on the Company's website [ www.gnmtlive.com ]. About General Metals Corporation: General Metals Corporation is an aggressive junior minerals exploration and development company, based in Reno, Nevada. The Company is actively exploring and developing its 100% controlled Independence property strategically located in the prolific and highly prospective Battle Mountain Mining District, Nevada. Permitting and Engineering for our proposed heap leach production is underway at the Independence Mine. The Company is currently evaluating acquisition opportunities to developfrom future cash flow from the Independence Project. Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This news release contains "forward-looking statements," as that term is defined in Section 27A of the United States Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities exchange Act of 1934. Statements in this press release which are not purely historical are forward-looking statements and include any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future. Such forward-looking statements include, among other things, that the proceeds from the recent private placement will allow the Company to proceed with permitting at its Independence Mine in Nevada or any shallow mining production later this year, that any estimated ounces of gold or silver are contained in the mineralized material in the "Shallow Target," and is proposed to be mined and loaded onto a cyanide heap leach pad, or any future financings that the Company may enter into. Actual results could differ from those projected in any forward-looking statements due to numerous factors. Such factors include, among others, the inherent uncertainties associated with mineral exploration. We are not in control of metals prices and these could vary to make development uneconomic. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release, and we assume no obligation to update the forward-looking statements, or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Although we believe that the beliefs, plans, expectations and intentions contained in this press release are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions will prove to be accurate. Investors should consult all of the information set forth herein and should also refer to the risk factors disclosure outlined in our annual report on Form 10-KSB for the most recent fiscal year, our quarterly reports on Form 10-QSB and other periodic reports filed from time-to-time with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Table 1. Gold and Silver Recovery Independence Bottle Roll Tests Au Ag --------- --------- --------- Feed Recovery, Recovery, Composite Size % % --------- --------- --------- Sample #1 (Hill Zone) 2" 82.5 22.2 --------- --------- --------- Sample #1 (Hill Zone) 1" 84.2 23.1 --------- --------- --------- Sample #1 (Hill Zone) 1/2" 81 21.4 --------- --------- --------- Sample #1 (Hill Zone) 10M 82.2 48.1 --------- --------- --------- Average 82.5 28.7 --------- --------- --------- Sample #2 (South Zone) 2" 63 22.2 --------- --------- --------- Sample #2 (South Zone) 1" 58.8 27.6 --------- --------- --------- Sample #2 (South Zone) 1/2" 61.1 30.8 --------- --------- --------- Sample #2 (South Zone) 10M 63.6 54.7 --------- --------- --------- Average 61.6 33.8 --------- --------- ---------
