The Elements of Innovation Discovered
The Elements of Innovation Discovered
Four American SW gold-silver projects for testing in-situ tech Metal Tech News – October 21, 2020
The in-place mineral extraction being developed by Group 11 Technologies involves the use of a FDA approved non-toxic formula to dissolve metals while they are still underground and pumping the metal-rich solution to the surface for recovery of the gold and other precious commodities.
In-place gold mining offers several potential advantages for mining companies, communities, and the environment.
Group 11 Technologies Inc. has acquired four overlooked precious metals projects in Nevada and New Mexico for initial testing of its proprietary technology for recovering gold, silver and other metals without mining.
Group 11 is a partnership between enCore Energy Corp., EnviroLeach Technologies Inc., and Golden Predator Mining Corp., with each company bringing specialized experience valuable to the company's plans to make in-situ gold, silver, and copper mining a reality.
A British Columbia, Canada-based technology company, EnviroLeach has developed a formula to extract metals from ores, concentrates and electronic waste that is made up of five ingredients that the FDA approved for human consumption.
Golden Predator, which successfully tested this environmentally friendly formula to dissolve and then recover gold from concentrates produced from a project in the Yukon Territory, brings geological and gold mining expertise to the partnership.
EnCore, which has several uranium properties in northwestern New Mexico, has pioneered proprietary expertise in in-situ recovery of this energy metal that Group 11 plans to apply to in-place mining of gold, silver, and other metals.
Group 11 is leveraging these companies' expertise to develop in-place mining of gold, silver and potentially other metals. This non-invasive extraction method that involves circulating fluids underground that dissolve the sought metals and then pumping the fluids back to the surface to extract the metals.
With IPM, there are no open pits or underground tunnels, no tailings or large waste dumps, and no large and power consuming milling equipment. Once the targeted metals are recovered, the orebody is rinsed with clean water and the wells and surface infrastructure removed and restored, which is much simpler and less expensive than closing conventional open-pit or underground mines.
"Mining needs to become less invasive and more sustainable. Group 11 is a unique combination of proven and proprietary knowledge to lessen the industry's footprint without any sacrifice of efficiency," Group 11 Technologies President Janet Lee-Sheriff said at the Sept. 1 launch of the company. "With Group 11, we have combined efforts to take our collective technological developments into a private company with experts in non-invasive mining and environmentally-friendly solutions. We intend to disrupt the mining industry."
More information on Group 11 and the in-situ mining technology it is developing can be read at Group 11 intends to disrupt gold mining in the Sept. 2 edition of Metal Tech News.
American Southwest projects
Group 11 has cut a deal with Nevada Select Royalty Inc. to acquire four American Southwest precious metal properties well-suited for testing its potentially disruptive in-place mining, or IPM technology.
Rock type, geologic setting, mineralogy, and water table levels were among a myriad of factors considered in selecting these projects in Nevada and New Mexico.
"The projects we have selected represent valuable precious metal opportunities which, for various reasons, have not advanced beyond exploration," said Janet Lee-Sheriff, President.
Lantern Project, Pershing County, Nevada
The Lantern project northeast of Reno, Nevada contains several types of gold and silver mineralization in numerous geological settings and is considered the most promising project for testing Group 11's in-place mining due to previous advanced exploration by several companies.
Highlights from previous drilling at Lantern include:
• 13.7 meters averaging 0.62 grams per metric ton gold from surface.
• 6.1 meters of 202.4 g/t silver from a depth of 25.9 meters.
• 21.3 meters of 205 g/t silver from a depth of 56.4 meters.
• 13.72 meters of 1.01 g/t gold from a depth of 149.4 meters.
In addition to a wide range of geological settings, Lantern offers a variety of minerals including gold, silver, electrum and silver sulfosalts, sulfide, and selenides to test the EnviroLeach formula on.
Clayton Ridge, which is located about midway between Reno and Las Vegas, hosts a near-surface gold deposit with relatively straightforward geology. Due to these factors, coupled with accessibility that lends to easy bulk sampling, Clayton Ridge will be among the first projects tested by Group 11.
In 1990, Billiton Minerals USA, Inc. mapped, grid sampled, trench sampled, and drilled 19 holes at Clayton Ridge. Highlights from three of these holes include:
• 3.1 meters of 2.12 g/t gold from 6.1 meters
• 1.6 meters of 1.03 g/t gold from 3.1 meters.
• 3.1 meters of 3.97 g/t gold from 10.7 meters.
• 3.1 meters of 4.38 g/t gold from 10.7 meters.
The Liberty Springs project, also between Reno and Las Vegas, offers a wide array of parameters to test in-place mining.
Highlights from 19 holes previously drilled on the property include:
• 16.8 meters of 0.62 g/t from 1.6 meters.
• 9.1 meters of 0.75 g/t gold from 88.4 meters.
• 21.3 meters of 0.51 g/t gold from 3.1 meters.
Group 11 says its Questa Blanca project in southern New Mexico is an intriguing project for testing due to unique geologic settings and modes of precious metals and uranium mineralization.
Previous owners have drilled several holes on the project with significant intercepts that include:
• 6.1 meters of 1.13 g/t gold from 6.1 meters
• 42.7 meters of 0.25 g/t gold and 12.64 g/t silver from 102.1 meters.
"Previous work has provided sufficient technical information to allow for design and testing of a variety of geologic settings and types of mineralization to determine the suitability of our technology for IPM recovery of gold and other metals," said Sheriff. "We are excited to begin this work and develop our thesis that IPM can revolutionize the mining industry."
To acquire these properties, Group 11 has agreed to pay US$240,000 over three years. Nevada Select Royalty retains a 2% net smelter royalty on each project and any claims Group 11 acquires within a one-mile area of interest around each property.
With more than 16 years of covering mining, Shane is renowned for his insights and and in-depth analysis of mining, mineral exploration and technology metals.
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