Global Gold Mining has reported flotation recoveries of up to 91.4% from laboratory testwork at its Sturec Gold Project in Slovakia, while ongoing drilling supplies data for the project’s pre-feasibility study. The company ended September with $6.134 million in cash after quarterly operating and investing outflows of $1.547 million.
- Fresh composite gold recovery of 91.4% to flotation concentrate
- Channel composite recovery of 91.0%, while transitional material returned 79.5%
- Drilling continues to support metallurgical, geotechnical and hydrogeological work
- $6.134 million cash balance at 30 September, equivalent to about four quarters of funding at current outgoings
- MetalsTech rebrand completed and new board and finance appointments made
Sturec testwork delivers high recoveries, with one important exception
Global Gold Mining Limited (ASX:GGM), formerly MetalsTech Limited, has taken a useful processing step at its Sturec Gold Project, reporting gold recoveries to flotation concentrate of 91.4% for a Fresh composite and 91.0% for a Channel composite. The results support further evaluation of a flowsheet using rougher-concentrate regrinding and two cleaner stages as the company advances Sturec’s Pre-Feasibility Study.
The headline numbers are not uniform across the tested material. A Transitional composite returned 79.5% recovery, with the company noting that the sample was partly oxidised and produced the lowest result of the three variability tests. The results apply to selected laboratory composites and do not represent deposit-wide, production-weighted or final payable-metal recovery.
The testwork used 196 samples drawn from 184 drillcore intervals and 12 underground channel samples, with a combined recorded mass of about 303 kilograms. Mining One Consultants said the results indicated that roughly 91% recovery from Fresh variability testing could be achieved through a relatively simple flotation flowsheet, while gravity-plus-flotation and flotation-only testing produced similar recoveries under the conditions examined. Averages quoted by the company exclude the Transitional result, so they should not be read as a single recovery assumption for the entire deposit.
Drilling now targets PFS engineering data
Ongoing drilling at Sturec is designed to collect additional metallurgical samples and provide hydrogeological and geotechnical information for the PFS. The company said the technical data is also intended to support future engineering work and potentially inform studies at Feasibility Study level. Samples have been sent to laboratories in Romania for assaying, while geotechnical material is being sent to the United Kingdom.
The work builds on the metallurgical testwork program that recently produced the 91.4% Fresh composite recovery result, with further variability testing planned from core generated by the current drilling campaign. The Sturec resource remains reported at 68.347 million tonnes grading 1.22 grams per tonne gold, containing 2.686 million ounces of gold and 22.210 million ounces of silver, unchanged from the company’s May 2023 estimate.
Cash position funds roughly four quarters at current pace
Global Gold Mining finished the September quarter with $6.134 million in cash, down from $7.677 million at the end of June. Operating activities consumed $493,000, while capitalised exploration and evaluation expenditure accounted for a further $1.054 million, including Sturec site work, PFS activity and metallurgical testing. No financing cash flowed in during the quarter.
On the Appendix 5B calculation, the cash balance represents approximately four quarters of funding based on relevant quarterly outgoings of $1.547 million. That estimate is a snapshot rather than a guarantee: it assumes the current spending rate, while the company remains an exploration and evaluation entity with no material production or development activity reported for the period. Related-party payments totalled $157,000, covering directors’ fees, wages and consulting or advisory services.
Rebrand and board changes complete corporate reset
The quarter also completed the company’s transition from MetalsTech to Global Gold Mining, with the GGM ticker taking effect on 25 August after shareholder approval. Brett Dickson joined as a non-executive director, while Ira Gibbs and Damon Cox became joint company secretaries and Ivy Jiang took over as chief financial officer. The board said the changes strengthen its resources, governance and corporate experience as Sturec moves through its technical studies.
The immediate investment question is whether the encouraging flotation results can be reproduced across a broader range of Sturec material and translated into the recovery assumptions, capital requirements and operating case of the PFS. The next drilling results and expanded metallurgical work will matter more than the best single laboratory outcome.
Bottom Line?
The 91.4% recovery result improves the processing case, but the PFS still needs to show how transitional material, broader variability and ongoing study costs affect the project economics.
Questions in the middle?
- Will further drilling confirm recoveries across the wider Sturec resource rather than only the tested composites?
- How will the 79.5% transitional-material recovery affect the processing flowsheet and future PFS assumptions?
- Can the company complete the next study phase within its roughly four-quarter cash estimate, or will additional funding be required?