Phase 2 Metallurgical Column Testing At Black Pine Project

VANCOUVER - Liberty Gold Corp. reported results from Phase 2 metallurgical column testing on oxide material from drill core at its Black Pine Project in southeastern Idaho.

Gold extractions from 29 variability composites designed to test the full range of rock types and grades encountered in the drill holes were rapid, with >80% of the leachable gold extracted within 10 days, and final column leach gold extractions ranging up to 94.5%.  These results are in-line with and slightly better than Phase 1 bulk sample column test results (78.9% weighted average extraction) and historical column tests from bulk samples and drill core (80.8%).

The Phase 2 metallurgical test work continues to provide support for a simple heap leach mining scenario. Large diameter core drilling in support of a Phase 3 metallurgical test program will commence on August 19, targeting the recent D-3 discovery, D-1 Southeast Extension, F zone and new M Zone target.

Metallurgical test work included fine and coarse bottle rolls and column tests using 0.5 inch (12.7 millimeter (mm)) and 1 inch (25.4 mm) crushed material. In total, 87 bottle rolls (29 coarse mesh and 58 fine mesh) and 29 column tests were carried out on material composited from six large diameter (PQ) drill holes in the D-1, D-2 and Rangefront target areas.

Results from the metallurgical test work demonstrate that oxide material from Black Pine responds well to column testing and should contribute to low capital and operating costs in the future.  The test work undertaken on the project to date has significantly mitigated the metallurgical risk related to the known mineralization. Virtually no transitional or sulphide mineralization has been encountered to date at Black Pine in over 2000 drill holes.

Moira Smith, Vice President of Exploration and Geoscience, said, “We are extremely pleased with the results from our bulk sample and variability column testing programs at Black Pine, which compare well with other oxide heap leach operations and development projects in the Great Basin. By testing the entire range of grades and rock types, we can better understand the metallurgical characteristics of the gold system across the board and design a process flow sheet that accommodates the variability that we see. Large diameter core drilling for Phase 3 metallurgical testing in other parts of the gold system will commence in a few days.”