Panther Metals plc said that sampling results had confirmed the “considerable potential value” of the tailings storage facility at its optioned Winston mine project in Ontario, Canada.
INFRASTRUCTURE
The site comprises the Pick Lake and Winston Lake deposits, the Winston Lake mine site infrastructure and “highly prospective” exploration targets.
Sampling returns exceeded the company’s expectations with high grade gold, gallium, silver, zinc, copper and cobalt.
Results included up to 0.814 g/t gold, 21.9 g/t silver, 2.20% zinc, 0.20 % copper, 496 parts per million cobalt and 122 ppm gallium.
Further sampling and metallurgical testwork is planned to determine the best economic and environmental way to extract the precious metals and minerals.
A rock sample from a massive sulphide dump at Pick Lake, some 1.4km west of the tailings, also showed 25.3% zinc, 3.0% copper, 0.55 gram per ton gold, 119 g/t silver, 388 ppm cobalt and 26.2 ppm gallium.
The existing infrastructure includes grid power, water treatment and storage facilities for tailings reprocessing, offering a “dream scenario for a junior exploration company” to process and return the tailings.
“The historical production records pointed to a significant proportion of gold passing through the processing plant and into the tailings,” said chief executive officer Darren Hazelwood.
“As the processing plant was only optimised to produce high-grade zinc and copper concentrates and gold prices were considerably lower than today.
“The tailings assay results confirm this belief and strongly point to the tailings containing considerable in-situ value at today’s commodity prices.
“Whilst we will now have to do the detailed metallurgical studies and recovery plant design, we see the potential for near-term cashflow and profits in the many millions.”
Panther is also in talks with Fulcrum Metals plc which would use non-cyanide extraction and separation technology through its own relationship with Extrakt Process Solutions.
REVENUE
Mr Hazelwood added that revenue from Winston tailings could fund resource growth, mine redevelopment, exploration across Panther’s portfolio and add to its Bitcoin treasury.
“The cashflow will provide Panther the opportunity to develop any discoveries on our own terms not beholden to the market, and will underpin our ability to attract non-dilutive finance.
“That said, should the economics of the tailings project be as robust as we currently envisage, we would ideally seek debt finance, rather than use the equity markets, in order to protect our shareholder’s value and avoid dilution as much as possible.”