Liberty Gold Corp. (LGD:TSX; LGDTF:OTCQX) announced that metallurgical findings on tested material from the Black Pine project's Rangefront zone "support a technically simple, low initial capital, low operating cost, run-of-mine heap-leach processing route" for this U.S. operation, reported PI Financial analyst Chris Thompson in a March 23 research note. Mineralization at Rangefront accounts for one-quarter of the Black Pine resource.
"We are encouraged by the results," Thompson wrote.
The analyst indicated that PI Financial rates the Canadian explorer Buy and has a CA$0.90 per share target price on it. In comparison, Liberty's current share price is about CA$0.54, implying an attractive potential upside from here.
Gold Recoveries a Beat
Thompson presented the highlights of the metallurgical testing results.
On testing of 24 composites, 87% of gold was extracted on weighted average, with overall recoveries ranging from 54.1–95.8%. This average was the highest percentage to date for Black Pine and well above PI Financial's modeled 74%, noted Thompson.
Also, the 87% average recovery was achieved on material with grades comparable to the figure PI Financial models as Black Pine's average life-of-mine (LOM) grade, 0.5 gram per ton gold.
Other Positive Findings
Thompson also pointed out that the heap-leach process was fast. More than 80% of gold was recovered within 10 days of column leaching.
Further, testing showed that particle size did not affect gold recovery amounts and that the relationship between recoveries and grades was predictable.
All of these findings, noted Thompson, suggest heap leaching is the ideal method for processing the oxide gold mineralization at Black Pine.
Production Estimate Unchanged
These recent metallurgical tests, wrote Thompson, are a "nice follow on" to the updated Black Pine resource estimate released last month.
"The resource estimate and metallurgical results released to date confirm our view of Black Pine's potential to deliver about 200 ounces of gold in average annual production over a healthy 10-year-plus LOM," Thompson wrote.
What To Watch For
Metallurgical testing continues, with two additional phases planned. One, phase 4B, will be on 25 composites from the Discovery, F and M zones and the E, A and Tallman pits. The other, phase 4C, will be on 12 composites from the C-D pit.
An updated resource estimate on Black Pine will follow, sometime in H2/23, and will include results from the 4B and 4C, as well as 4A, testing phases.
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Disclosures:
1) Doresa Banning compiled this article for Streetwise Reports LLC and provides services to Streetwise Reports as an independent contractor. She or members of her household own securities of the following companies mentioned in the article: None. She or members of her household are paid by the following companies mentioned in this article: None.
2) The following companies mentioned in this article are billboard sponsors of Streetwise Reports: Liberty Gold Corp. Click here for important disclosures about sponsor fees.
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Disclosures for PI Financial, Liberty Gold Corp., March 23, 2023
Analyst Certification: I, Chris Thompson, hereby certify that all of the views expressed in this report accurately reflect my personal views about the subject securities or issuers. I also certify that no part of my compensation was, is, or will be, directly or indirectly related to the specific recommendations or views expressed in this report. I am the research analyst primarily responsible for preparing this report.
Research Disclosures: PI Financial Corp. and/or its affiliates have received compensation for investment banking services for the subject company over the preceding 12-month period. PI Financial Corp. and/or its affiliates expect to receive or intend to seek compensation for investment banking services from the subject company.
General Disclosure: The affiliates of PI Financial Corp. are PI Financial (US) Corp., PI Financial Services Corp., and PI Capital Corp. Analysts are compensated through a combined base salary and bonus payout system. The bonus payout is amongst other factors determined by revenue generated directly or indirectly from various departments including Investment Banking. Evaluation is largely on an activity-based system that includes some of the following criteria: reports generated, timeliness, performance of recommendations, knowledge of industry, quality of research and investment guidance, and client feedback. Analysts and all other Research staff are not directly compensated for specific Investment Banking transactions.
None of the material, nor its content, nor any copy of it, may be altered in any way, transmitted to, copied or distributed to any other party, without the prior express written permission of PI Financial Corp.
