While the inexpensive mining method has been used successfully on low grade ore deposits in the western U.S., only a handful of companies, including Gordex Minerals (TSE), Anaconda Canada and Heath Steele have tried heap leaching in Canada.
Heap leaching allows gold producers to extract fine grained gold from ore grading as low as 0.03 oz by heaping crushed or broken ore on pads and spraying it continuously with dilute cyanide solution.
The gold rich solution passes through the rock where it is collected on the leach pads and later recovered via Merrill Crowe or carbon-in-pulp methods.
At its Duvay property near Amos, Que., in September, Sphinx is planning to conduct a heap leach test on 50,000 tons of surface material averaging 0.08 oz to 0.1 oz, consulting geologist Gilles Laverdiere told The Northern Miner.
Test results will form part of a study designed to determine whether open pit reserves of about 1.1 million tons can be mined profitably. Laboratory tests at Lakefield, Ont., indicate to Sphinx that it can expect a 65% recovery rate when leaching begins.
“But sometimes when you do a test in real life (in the field), results are not the same,” said Laverdiere.
After raising $1.1 million through a private placement arranged through Swiss Canada Capital of Montreal, Sphinx has the money in place to build a small heap leap leach plant. The placement consisted of 778,485 Sphinx shares at $1.41 per share.
Characteristics of the Duvay gold mineralization could allow the company to operate for about six to eight months per year, according to Laverdiere. But he said it is much too early to predict how much gold will be extracted from the property.
Sphinx is a member of the Montreal-based Ariel group of companies.
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