Western Exploration Confirms 73% Gold Recovery at Gravel Creek
Metallurgical tests show standard cyanide leaching works on Gravel Creek, potentially enabling on-site dor production.
Key points
- Metallurgical tests on a 30-kilogram composite delivered 73.3% gold and 74.0% silver whole-ore recovery via cyanide leaching.
- The results enable potential on-site dor production, reducing reliance on third-party roasters or autoclaves for processing.
- Gravel Creek holds 254,000 indicated and 683,000 inferred gold-equivalent ounces, with 46 drill sites fully permitted and bonded.
Western Exploration Inc. (WEX:TSX.V) has released metallurgical data confirming that its Gravel Creek project in Nevada is not refractory. Tests on a composite sample achieved 73.3% gold and 74.0% silver recovery using standard cyanide leaching. This result contradicts earlier assumptions that the deposit required expensive specialized processing.
The data suggests the company can produce dor on-site rather than relying on third-party roasters. This shift in processing strategy could significantly alter the project's operating margins and capital requirements. The findings provide a clearer path from resource definition to cash-flowing production.
Processing Route Reduces Technical Uncertainty
The testing involved ultra-fine grinding followed by cyanide leaching of gravity and flotation concentrates. This method extracted the majority of precious metals from a high-grade concentrate. According to Streetwise Reports, this opens the possibility of on-site dor production, reducing reliance on external facilities.
The company now has multiple processing routes to evaluate. This flexibility allows management to weigh capital costs, reagent usage, and operating margins more accurately. The results reduce a key technical uncertainty without yet altering overall resource estimates.
Resource Expansion and Permitting Status
Gravel Creek currently holds 254,000 ounces of indicated gold-equivalent and 683,000 ounces inferred at a 3.0 g/t cutoff. Recent 3D modeling links mineralization to a chargeability anomaly that remains open in three directions. The company aims to double the resource through further exploration.
Western Exploration is fully permitted and bonded for 46 drill sites across Gravel Creek and the Jarbidge extension. A water lease signed with Nevada Gold Mines LLC provides up to 14 acre-feet of water annually. These logistical steps remove major hurdles for the next drilling phase.
Analyst Views on Valuation and Risk
Analysts note that the metallurgical results reduce technical risk but do not change current valuation models. Paradigm Capital observed that the current price does not fully reflect the dual-asset strategy. The approach pairs near-term development at Doby George with longer-term exploration upside at Gravel Creek.
