Saturn Metals Reports 86% Gold Recovery, Surpassing Previous Estimates at Apollo Hill

Significant Metallurgical Breakthrough at Apollo Hill

Saturn Metals Limited has announced a material increase in gold recovery rates from its heap leach metallurgical test work at the Apollo Hill Gold Project in Western Australia. The company’s recent column leach tests on near-surface oxide and transitional materials have achieved an average gold recovery of 86%, a notable improvement over the 75% recovery assumption used in previous studies and well above the global heap leach average of approximately 65%.

This enhanced recovery rate is particularly important as it applies to the oxide and transitional ore types, which represent a substantial portion of the early mining schedule. These materials typically account for 39% of ore mined in the first three years, meaning the improved recovery could significantly boost early project cash flows and overall economics.

Heap Leach Processing – A Cost-Effective Pathway

Heap leach processing is a widely used, low-cost method for extracting gold, responsible for nearly half of global gold production. Saturn’s test work confirms that Apollo Hill’s mineralisation is highly amenable to this method, with favourable leach kinetics showing 86% of gold extraction achieved within just 30 days and maximum recovery reached by 95 days.

Moreover, the tests demonstrated very low reagent consumption, with cyanide usage averaging only 0.47 kilograms per tonne and negligible lime requirements. The excellent percolation rates, well above industry minimums, indicate efficient movement of leachate through the heap, further supporting the scalability and operational efficiency of the process.

Implications for Project Development and Economics

These metallurgical advances provide Saturn Metals with a competitive advantage, underpinning a simpler, lower-cost processing route compared to more capital-intensive milling and carbon-in-leach alternatives. The ability to process lower-grade material economically through heap leaching allows for a lower cut-off grade, improving resource utilisation and mining efficiency.

Saturn’s Managing Director, Ian Bamborough, highlighted the significance of these results, noting that the strong metallurgy offers a “significant economic head start” and will be integrated into the company’s ongoing Pre-Feasibility Study. The findings also reinforce the potential for Apollo Hill to become a large-scale, bulk tonnage open pit operation with robust economics.

Next Steps and Future Work

While these laboratory-scale column leach results are promising, Saturn Metals plans to undertake larger-scale metallurgical testing, including trial heap leach pads, to validate these findings under operational conditions. Further drilling and resource infill work are also anticipated to enhance confidence in the deposit and support future feasibility studies.

Overall, the improved gold recoveries and favourable processing characteristics mark a pivotal step forward for Apollo Hill, positioning Saturn Metals well as it advances towards production.