Nova Minerals Test Yields 26.7 g/t Gold Concentrate with 98% Recovery
NVA•Bench-scale flotation on 0.39–0.42 g/t Au Korbel ore at 250 µm yielded 95.9–98.3% gold recovery, a 2–3% mass pull, and a 14.7–26.7 g/t Au concentrate. Scaling coarse particle flotation to the 425 Mt @ 0.3 g/t (4.05 Moz) Korbel resource could slash processing volumes, lower costs and simplify the flowsheet.
1. Bench-Scale Flotation Results
Rougher flotation testing on a composite of Korbel Main ore (0.39–0.42 g/t Au) at grind sizes from 75 µm to 1 000 µm achieved peak recoveries of 95.9–98.3% at 150–250 µm, with mass pulls of 2–3% producing high-grade concentrates of 14.7–26.7 g/t Au.
2. Resource Application and Economic Upside
Applying coarse particle flotation to the 425 Mt @ 0.3 g/t (4.05 Moz) pit-constrained Korbel resource is expected to upgrade low-grade ore, reduce downstream processing by 97–98%, cut capital and operating costs, eliminate ore sorting and heap leach steps, and allow a smaller Carbon-in-Leach plant.
3. Next Steps in Feasibility Study
The program will advance with Korbel CIL test-work and further coarse particle flotation studies to refine flowsheet design, confirm gold recoveries and gangue rejection, and optimize plant scale and configuration for enhanced project economics.
