Can Waratah Maintain High Gold Recoveries as Spur Project Expands?

Strong Metallurgical Foundations at Spur Zone

Waratah Minerals Limited (ASX, WTM) has unveiled encouraging early-stage geometallurgical results from its Spur Zone within the Spur Project in New South Wales. The company’s test work indicates gold recoveries exceeding 90% through a combination of gravity separation and conventional cyanide leaching, underscoring the potential for a simple and effective processing route.

These results stem from detailed analyses of 18 drill core samples, employing innovative micro-X-ray fluorescence (micro-XRF) scanning alongside traditional gravity and diagnostic leaching tests. The micro-XRF technique allowed for precise mapping of gold grain size and mineral associations, revealing coarse, free milling gold grains up to 688 microns in size; a favourable characteristic for efficient recovery.

Implications for Processing and Project Economics

The gravity recovery component ranged from 15% to 45%, averaging 33.6%, while conventional leaching accounted for an additional 51% to 74% recovery. Notably, negligible gold was found locked within silicate minerals, simplifying extraction. This combination of coarse gold and high recoveries suggests that the Spur Zone’s mineralisation can be processed using well-established, cost-effective methods without the need for complex or novel technologies.

Waratah’s Managing Director, Peter Duerden, emphasised the significance of these findings, highlighting the quality of the gold and the straightforward recovery pathway. The company is advancing a comprehensive 80,000-metre drilling program with seven rigs active onsite, aiming to expand the resource and refine the geometallurgical model further.

Next Steps and Broader Exploration Context

Building on these promising results, Waratah plans additional micro-XRF scanning and larger scale metallurgical programs to assess variability across the deposit and to develop a detailed metallurgical flow sheet. Complementary gold deportment studies at the nearby Consols Zone will feed into a 3D geometallurgical model, enhancing understanding of the system’s complexity and guiding future processing design.

The Spur Project sits within Australia’s prolific Lachlan Fold Belt, a region renowned for significant gold-copper porphyry deposits. Waratah’s tenure includes other prospective areas such as the Stavely-Stawell Gold Project in Victoria, positioning the company well within a highly sought-after exploration landscape.