| Company | Almaden Minerals Ltd. |
| Commodities | Gold, Silver |
| Throughput | 7,500 tpd |
| Status | PEA Update |
Executive Summary
This section of the Ixtaca PEA Update outlines the proposed recovery methods for the Ixtaca deposit. Preliminary metallurgical testwork indicates that mill feed can be processed using gravity concentration, conventional flotation, and leaching of a flotation concentrate to recover silver and gold. The process is designed to produce a silver-gold doré with a purity of approximately 98% in precious metals. A simplified process flow sheet is provided for an average throughput of 7,500 tonnes per day.
The processing plant includes a crushing stage, followed by grinding, gravity concentration, and flotation to produce a mineral concentrate. The gravity and flotation concentrates are leached with cyanide, likely in a CIL process in agitated tanks, to extract precious metals into activated carbon. In the Gold Plant, gold and silver are extracted from carbon using an elution process followed by electrowinning and smelting.
Flotation tailings are placed in the Tailings Management Facility (TMF), while leach tailings pass through a cyanide destruction neutralization process before disposal. The project has secured an option to acquire the Rock Creek Mill in Nome, Alaska, which matches Ixtaca’s flowsheet and includes most processing facilities, potentially reducing construction time and cost. Process equipment planned for Ixtaca utilizes conventional technology.
Website: https://www.almadenminerals.com/ixtaca/economic-studies
Report Date:
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Project Status: PEA Update
Commodity: Gold, Silver
Throughput: 7,500 tpd
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Ore type:
Technical report and processing history
The following archived source profiles have been consolidated here to preserve the project’s processing history and study context.
Ixtaca Project — 2014 Technical Report
Ixtaca Project — 2014 Technical Report
| Company | Almaden Minerals Ltd. |
| Date | 2014-05-13 |
| Region | Not Specified |
| Commodities | Silver, Gold |
Executive Summary
This technical report outlines the preliminary metallurgical testwork results for the Ixtaca Project, conducted by Almaden Minerals Ltd. in May 2014. The testwork indicates that mill feed from the Ixtaca deposit can be processed using a combination of gravity concentration, conventional flotation, and leaching of a flotation concentrate. The proposed process aims to recover 90.3% of the total silver and gold in the mill feed, producing a silver-gold doré with a purity of approximately 98% in precious metals.
The processing plant is designed to handle 30,000 tonnes per day of mill feed. The flow sheet includes a crushing stage followed by grinding, gravity concentration, and flotation to produce a mineral concentrate. The gravity and flotation concentrates are then leached with cyanide in agitated tanks to extract precious metals into solution. Gold and silver are precipitated from the pregnant leach solutions using zinc in a Merrill-Crowe process, followed by filtration and smelting.
Waste management involves placing flotation tailings in a Tailings Management Facility (TMF). Leach tailings undergo a cyanide destruction neutralization process before being placed in a separate fully lined Concentrate Tailings Management Facility (CTMF). The process equipment planned for Ixtaca utilizes conventional technology, indicating a standard approach to metallurgical recovery for this deposit.
Website: https://www.almadenminerals.com/project
Report Date: 2014-05-13
Region: Not Specified
Project Status:
Commodity: Silver, Gold
Throughput:
Mine Life:
Mine Type:
Ore type:
