ExGen Announces Empire Mine Gold Recoveries Exceed 97% Using Environmentally Friendly Reagent

 ExGen Resources Inc. is pleased to report positive metallurgical test results by AuRIC Metalurgical Labs, LLC for  Phoenix Copper Ltd.’s (“Phoenix”)  Empire Mine Project in Idaho, USA.   ExGen owns 20% and Phoenix owns 80% of Konnex Resources, Inc. (“Konnex”), which holds the leases and claims to the Empire Mine Project. ExGen further has a 2.5% NSR royalty on the Empire Mine Project and owns 1,330,000 common shares of Phoenix.

Highlights

• Precious metals tests performed on samples from the Empire open pit deposit using non-toxic ammonium thiosulfate (“ATS”) reagent  resulted in high gold recoveries of 97.8% and 97.7%, and silver recoveries of 69.8% and 78.2%, respectively
• ATS reagent consumption comparable to sodium cyanide in back-to-back bench scale tests
• This development will have a positive impact on the permitting timeline for possible gold production at Empire as there is no longer be the requirement to permit a cyanide operation
• Pilot scale test plant now being prepared at AuRIC’s  laboratory in Salt Lake City before commencing small scale pilot testing at the Empire Mine MIne site

Jason Riley, CEO of ExGen commented: “We are pleased to see the excellent recoveries of gold from the cyanide alternative ATS reagent. Should further testing confirm the recoveries at a larger scale, we are hopeful this could have a positive impact on the permitting timeline for potential gold and silver production at Empire.”

Empire Mine – Gold and Silver Metallurgical Recovery

As part of the Company’s ongoing Empire Mine work programme, samples amounting to 400 pounds were collected from outcrops near the location of channel samples analysed in 2018. The head-grade of the 400-pound sample assayed at 12.8 g/ton gold.  The sample was submitted to AuRIC Metallurgical Laboratories in Salt Lake City, Utah for cyanide-alternative laboratory and bench scale agitated-tank leach testing.

AuRIC performed 4 laboratory scale amenability tests and 2 bench scale extraction tests using sodium cyanide lixiviant, and 4 laboratory scale amenability tests and 2 bench scale extraction tests using the non-toxic ammonium thiosulfate lixiviant (ATS), on splits from the primary sample.  The results of this test work indicate that ATS works equally as well as sodium cyanide on both the laboratory scale samples (30g to 250g) and the bench scale samples (3,000g). Gold recovery using ATS on the 2 bench samples resulted in 97.8% and 97.7%, and silver recovery was 69.8% and 78.2% after 6 hours of leaching.  ATS reagent consumption for both tests was 4.32% and 4.42%, respectively.  Tables 1 and 2 show the results of ATS 6-hour leach testing.

By comparison, the sodium cyanide gold recoveries on splits of the same sample were 97.8% and 97.7%, and silver recoveries of 68.1% and 65.5% following 6 hours of leach time.  The sodium cyanide reagent consumption for both tests was 6.00%. A detailed laboratory report titled “Laboratory and Bench Scale Metallurgical Extraction Tests Performed Using Sodium Cyanide and Ammonium Thiosulfate Leaches on a Composite Sample of Magnetite Ore from the Empire Mine, Custer CO, ID” can be viewed on the Company’s website at www.phoenixcopperlimited.com/reports.

Table 1 – 3,000-gram Bench Scale Test Results using Ammonium Thiosulfate – Run 1
Test 4894C
Time (h)	Free ATS (g/L)	ATS Cons. %	pH	Solution Volume (mL)	Au (g/ton) 12.78		Ag (g/ton) 13.43
					g/ton	% Rec	g/ton	% Rec
0	14.82	–	10.20	4,500	0.000		0.000	0.0
1	14.38	2.97	10.20	4,500	10.575	82.7	5.625	41.9
2	14.30	3.51	10.18	4,500	11.820	92.5	6.173	46.0
3	14.22	4.05	10.14	4,500	12.225	95.7	8.888	66.2
4	14.20	4.18	10.14	4,500	12.480	97.7	9.113	67.9
5	14.18	4.32	10.11	4,500	12.450	97.4	9.366	69.7
6	14.18	4.32	10.06	4,500	12.495	97.8	9.374	69.8

 

Table 2 – 3,000-gram Bench Scale Test Results using Ammonium Thiosulfate – Run 2
Test 4899C
Time (h)	Free ATS (g/L)	ATS Cons. %	pH	Solution Volume (mL)	Au (g/ton) 12.78		Ag (g/ton) 13.43
					g/ton	% Rec	g/ton	% Rec
0	29.64	–	10.20	4,500	0.000		0.000	0.0
1	29.00	2.16	10.20	4,500	10.650	83.3	6.236	46.4
2	28.85	2.67	10.20	4,500	11.925	93.3	8.543	63.6
3	28.65	3.34	10.18	4,500	12.270	96.0	10.193	75.9
4	28.47	3.95	10.18	4,500	12.480	97.7	10.358	77.1
5	28.37	4.28	10.19	4,500	12.492	97.7	10.500	78.2
6	28.33	4.42	10.18	4,500	12.483	97.7	10.500	78.2

Qualified Person
The scientific and technical data contained in this news release was prepared and reviewed by Kieran Downes, P.Geo., an independent qualified person to the Company. Mr. Downes is responsible for ensuring that the geologic information provided in this news release is accurate and acts as a qualified person pursuant to National Instrument 43-101 – Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.

ABOUT EXGEN RESOURCES INC.

ExGen, formerly Boxxer Gold Corp, is a project accelerator that seeks to fund exploration and development of our projects through joint ventures and partnership agreements. This approach significantly reduces the technical and financial risks for ExGen, while maintaining the upside exposure to new discoveries and potential cash flow. The company intends to build a diverse portfolio of projects across exploration stages and various commodity groups. ExGen currently has 6 projects in Canada and the US.

For more information on ExGen please contact ExGen Resources Inc.

Jason Tong
Chief Financial Officer
Email: jason@catapultgroup.ca