Pershing Gold Corp., Lakewood, Colo., initiated the metallurgical studies needed for mine planning and permitting activities at Relief Canyon. They selected McClelland Labs, Inc., Sparks, Nev., to conduct a series of metallurgical test work designed to determine the best crush size and agglomeration method, with the ultimate objective of increasing gold recovery, and to determine waste rock characterization.
To support this study, Pershing Gold recently drilled five large-diameter diamond core holes located in the North and South Pits to provide a representative suite of samples for the metallurgical tests. These holes obtained drill core samples from the three ore types at the Relief Canyon Mine: the Main Breccia Zone; the Lower Zone; and the Jasperoid. Approximately 1380 ft of core will be sent to the McClelland testing facility where it will be split, crushed, sampled and subjected to a variety of metallurgical tests.
“These metallurgical tests represent an important first step in the mine planning and permitting process for redevelopment of the Relief Canyon Mine,” commented Stephen D. Alfers, Pershing Gold CEO and Executive Chairman. “We are also very pleased to be working with McClelland Labs, one of the foremost metallurgical testing facilities in the gold mining industry. We believe the experts at McClelland can help us improve gold recoveries from the historic levels of 65 to 70 percent to our target increased recovery rate of 75 percent.”
Pershing Gold retained Earl Shortridge (M.S., Metallurgy, Colorado School of Mines) to be the Company’s in-house metallurgical expert to assist with the metallurgical testing program. Shortridge has more than 45 years of experience designing and interpreting metallurgical tests. Upon retiring from Newmont Mining, Shortridge established a consulting practice that has provided metallurgical expertise to a variety of clients including Franco Nevada, International Tower Hill, US Gold, and Newmont Mining.
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