Weighted Average 79% Extraction In Bulk Sample Column Testing At Black Pine Project

VANCOUVER - Liberty Gold Corp. reported results from Bulk Sample metallurgical testing on oxide material from its Black Pine Project in southeastern Idaho, providing support for a simple heap leach mining scenario. Gold extractions from six, 300 kilogram (kg), large-diameter column tests were rapid, and >80% of the leachable gold was extracted within 10 days, with final column leach gold extractions ranging up to 92.8%.

Metallurgical test work included fine and coarse bottle rolls and column tests using material ranging up to 3 inch particle size. In total, 12 bottle rolls (six coarse mesh and six fine mesh) and six column tests were carried out on six bulk samples obtained from backhoe trenching of bedrock exposed on ramps in five historic pits and one drill target at Black Pine.

Results from the metallurgical test work demonstrate that oxide material from Black Pine responds well to column testing and will contribute to low capital and operating costs in the future.  The test work undertaken on the project has significantly mitigated the metallurgical risk related to the known mineralization.

Highlights include: Six column leach tests produced a weighted average* 78.9% gold extraction. With a range up to 92.8% gold extraction; Gold extraction was rapid, with >80% of the leachable gold extracted within the first 10 days of column leaching; Six coarse bottle roll tests (target of 80% passing 10 mesh or 1.7mm particle size) produced a weighted average 79.1% gold extraction; Six fine bottle roll tests (target of 80% passing 200 mesh or 75 micron particle size) produced a weighted average 81.8% gold extraction; Gold extraction is relatively insensitive to particle size, with the exception of one sample from the southernmost “I” pit. All other composites can be projected to coarse particle sizes approximating run of mine conditions without significant loss of gold extraction; & Results generated by this program are comparable to historical column test results generated by Noranda in 1988 from oxide material obtained prior to mining.

“We are extremely pleased with the metallurgical results from our bulk sample column testing program at Black Pine. This is a key 2020 deliverable for our Company,” said Cal Everett, President & CEO. “We believe that by integrating our detailed understanding of grade distribution and rock type into a heap leach plan, we will be able to achieve these types of recoveries in a new operation. Results from our drill core variability composite column testing program are anticipated in the near future.”

In addition to the recently-complete bulk sample testing by Liberty Gold, the project benefits from metallurgical data generated in 1988 by Noranda Mining. Similar laboratory and processing methods were used, allowing for a direct comparison with the Liberty Gold program.  Noranda used eight samples derived from three bulk samples and five composites from drill core were used for the study.  The weighted average for Noranda fine bottle rolls was 84.1%, although this result was skewed by one 10.9 gram per tonne gold (“g/t Au”) sample.  The arithmetic mean was 79.9%.  The weighted average of 17 column tests at various feed sizes was 80.8%, similar to the results generated by the Liberty Gold program.