Eloro advances metallurgy at Iska Iska silver-tin project
Eloro Resources Ltd has highlighted results from its metallurgical update for the Iska Iska silver-tin polymetallic project in southern Bolivia.
The Iska Iska project represents a major silver-tin polymetallic porphyritic-epithermal complex located within the province of Sud Chichas. Eloro’s geological team has discerned two major deposits within the project, the deeper Tin Domain to the west, and the shallower Ag-Zn-Pn Polymetallic Domain to the east.
Tom Larsen, CEO of Eloro, highlighted the TOMRA ore sorting test results as a particular success. As each domain concentrates mineralisation in vein breccias, ore-sorting could have a significant impact by selectively removing waste material, thereby reducing operating costs and increasing feed grades into the grinding circuit. Preliminary results from the XRT ore sorting indicated the potential to reject 80% of sub-cutoff grade waste for tin, whilst also impacting polymetallic mineralisation significantly.
Besides the ore sorting tests, the exploration team has also optimized tin recovery in association with Wardell Armstrong International. Using a combination of multi gravity technologies and tin flotation, tin recovery in the concentrator has been boosted to 50%.
Other pre-concentration techniques have also been tested, with Dense Media Separation having similar positive results to ore-sorting. Eloro hopes to use this technique as a potential further pre-concentration stage on the XRT product, or on finer material where ore-sorting is less effective.
Eloro anticipates the release of its Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) in August, swiftly followed by a Preliminary Economic Assessment, incorporating the results of the recent tests.
These advancements represent a significant milestone for Eloro and the Iska Iska project. The incorporation of pre-concentration, particularly for the finer material, and the boost in tin recovery could considerably enhance the project’s overall profitability.
