Noront step closer to burning brightly at the Ring of Fire
Noront Resources Ltd. (“Noront” or the “Company”) (TSX Venture: NOT) recently announced the results of metallurgical testing of it’s Eagle Nest mine project located in the hotly contested ring of fire. Testing conducted by Expert Process Solutions (XPS) demonstrated “very good” overall separation of the Eagle Nest ore into high quality copper and nickel concentrates low in magnesium oxide.
Testing was done using representative samples in both open and locked cycle tests to determine separation yield and refine extraction methods. XPS used material and composite samples stored by SGS for the initial work, and further testing was conducted on composite samples containing a blend of 83:17 net textured to massive sulfide blend to mimic the chemical makeup of the ore body.
XPS applied advanced simulations to the data to more accurately predict recovery potential of a re-circulating commercial plant, as bench tests have historically under predicted separation potential of ores at the smaller scale.
Observations of the testing concluded that a separation of Ni and CU concentrates is achievable, with all the early indications of a high-quality product.
In early 2020 Noront executed a metallurgical drilling campaign to collect additional sample material from the Eagle’s Nest deposit for future variability testing. Four holes totalling 642m were drilled, including two holes into the upper domain and two wedge holes into the lower domain. The upper domain holes were continuously assayed to better inform the resource model. The lower domain holes were only sporadically assayed to preserve sufficient material for future metallurgical testing. Assay results of the upper domain holes showcased the incredible metal tenor of the Eagle's Nest sulfide ores.
Noront plans to perform further metallurgical testing on core samples collected from the 2020 drilling program.
Noront maintains a strict QA/QC protocol for all its drilling programs. Core logging and sampling is performed onsite under the supervision of geologists licensed by the Association of Professional Geoscientists of Ontario (APGO). Reference standards, field blanks, and duplicates are inserted into the sample stream at regular intervals. Once cut, drill core samples are labelled and sealed in individual bags then grouped into batches for shipping to Thunder Bay via Nakina under chain of custody documentation.
Samples are submitted to Activation Laboratories (Actlabs), an ISO-17025 certified laboratory in Thunder Bay, for sample preparation and multi-element analysis. This includes fire-assay for precious metals and total-digestion ICP-OES for base metals (exclusive of chromium which is analysed by XRF).
Noront President and CEO Alan Coutts commented, “these are important results as they enable us to pursue multiple marketing options for our concentrates. Not only can Noront sell high quality products to traditional Canadian and international refining companies, but we can also provide dedicated nickel concentrates to the emerging battery metals sector.”
In addition to the metallurgical testing Noront is also conducting several Electromagnetic surveys over the areas to better identify EM conductors associated with possible ultramafics. Previous Areal surveys conducted by Noront and other companies in the past has left Noront with an extensive data set of the area, with plans to re-evaluate data to further determine potential targets ahead of drilling.
Noront Resources Ltd. is focused on the development of its high-grade Eagle’s Nest nickel, copper, platinum and palladium deposit and the world class chromite deposits including Blackbird, Black Thor, and Big Daddy, all of which are located in the James Bay Lowlands of Ontario.
With road permitting on the way, and the continued work by Noront and the other interested parties, the Ring of Fire is getting one step closer to burning brightly.
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