Oklo test work yields 97pc gold recoveries at SK1

Metallurgical test work on ore sourced from the SK1 prospect within Oklo’s Dandoko project in Mali has returned gold recoveries above 97 per cent.

The test work on two composite samples representing soft oxide and transitional zone gold mineralisation, which makes up the majority of maiden resources at SK1, complement initial work on oxide, transitional and fresh rock mineralisation at SK2.

Oklo Resources (ASX:OKU) noted that the oxide mineralisation achieved excellent leach recoveries in excess of 97 per cent at both coarse and fine grind sizes, indicating that the material is not grind sensitive.

Transition mineralisation, which makes up just 2 per cent of the resource tonnage, achieved leach recoveries of more than 81 per cent at a finer grind size, though this increased to 96.6 per cent once it was further subjected to flotation test work.

“The metallurgical test work results reported from SK1 continue to confirm the mineralisation captured in our initial Dandoko mineral resource estimate as amenable to a simple gold processing flow sheet,” managing director Simon Taylor said.

“The results from the oxide zone in particular, comprising almost all of the mineralisation at SK1 and ~65% of the total MRE, are highly favourable.

“The company will now embark on the next stage of the test work program to investigate optimal processing options and scenarios based on these encouraging metallurgical results, which continue to indicate that simple industry-standard cyanide leach processing is appropriate for the Dandoko Project.”

Metallurgical test work

The metallurgical work was carried out on a soft oxide zone mineralisation grading a weighted average of about 8.2 grams per tonne (g/t) gold and a sulphide transition zone of about 4.9g/t gold.

Oxide and transition zone mineralisation makes up about 68 per cent and 12 per cent of the initial Dandoko resource of 11.34 million tonnes grading 1.83g/t gold for 668,500 ounces of contained gold.

It follows on last year’s metallurgical test work on SK2 ore that returned cyanide leach recoveries of about 94 per cent for oxide, 85 per cent for transitional and 88 per cent for fresh rock mineralisation.

Further variability test work based on the metallurgical domains identified in the MRE to confirm the optimal processing route will begin shortly.

The company is also carrying out a 14,000m drill program at Dandoko that targets resource extensions along strike and at depth at the impressive Seko deposit.

This article was developed in collaboration with Oklo Resources, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.

This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.