TORONTO, ON – TheNewswire - April 21, 2021 – BacTech Environmental Corporation BCCEF, BAC, BAC, ("BacTech or the Company"), a commercially proven environmental technology company delivering effective and eco-friendly biomining and remediation solutions, today is pleased to announce what the Company considers to be very positive gold recovery results from the third-party diagnostic test work being conducted at ALS Laboratories in Perth, Australia under the guidance of BacTech's Dr. Paul Miller. ALS Laboratories is a recognized global leader in metallurgical testing and consulting services for mineral process flowsheet development and optimization.
Concentrated samples of arsenopyrite and pyrite material collected from small mine producers in Ponce Enriquez, Ecuador, previously assayed to confirm positive magnitudes of gold, were subjected to diagnostic leaching as part of a larger program of bioleach testing. Diagnostic testing provides a rapid and early determination of the magnitude of gold recovery anticipated from a commercial bioleach process and whether the project should be pursued. Results received from ALS Laboratories on 20 April confirmed that all the gold in a blend of two Ecuadorian feedstocks subjected to diagnostic leaching was associated with minerals amenable to bioleaching giving a 100% gold recovery. Results from diagnostic leach testing of a further Ecuadorian feedstock returned a value of 99.4% gold recovery.
"BacTech is pleased to report that the much-anticipated diagnostic test results returned excellent gold liberation values confirming a refractory mineralogy highly amenable to bioleach processing," said Ross Orr, President and CEO of BacTech. "Waiting for test results is never easy, but after two months of diagnostic test work, the anticipated gold recoveries give us the confidence to move forward to the next step. In short, this confirms operational viability."
The Company and ALS continue with the formal bioleach test work with respect to bio-oxidation kinetics; arsenic neutralization and gold recovery to obtain the necessary criteria to move forward with plant design. The Company anticipates that a site will be selected near Ponce Enriquez to host the proposed plant in the near future and will subsequently begin the permitting process which requires extensive lead time when compared to other aspects of the project.
Following the overall study completion, the Company will award a third-party Feasibility Study to determine the economic potential of the project. It should be noted that this study is expected to be simplified by the fact that there are no mining requirements to consider. Pending project feasibility, a Detailed Engineering Study would then be commissioned. It is anticipated a Chief Operating Officer responsible for building out the bioleach plant will be engaged shortly. BacTech will provide the market with updates in due course.
"Subject to travel restrictions, my plan is to visit Ponce soon to identify a suitable location for this plant," Orr added. "Although the footprint for our planned bioleaching facility will be small compared to the total acreage we're seeking, we envision a need for a sizable material storage area and capacity for up to, what we hope will be, 20 years of processing material from Ponce and beyond. Once a plant is established, we anticipate attracting more suppliers of feedstocks and will aim to make provision at the design stage to allow expansion of the initial plant and give greater economies of scale."
The selection of Ponce Enriquez is driven by the extremely high levels of arsenic that are associated with gold in the +90 small mines in the area which attract high penalties in smelting. Presently, the miners are forced to sell their production at reduced prices to offshore buyers due to the high arsenic values in the concentrates, and consequently accept lower financial returns. By eliminating financial penalties charged for arsenic, BacTech proposes to pay better prices for the miners' material.
This press release has been reviewed by Dr Paul C. Miller Ph.D Chem. Eng. C.Eng. MIMM., considered a qualified expert for reporting purposes.
About BacTech Environmental Corporation
BacTech is a proven environmental technology company, delivering effective and eco-friendly biomining and remediation solutions to commercial operations to smartly process and recover preferred metals (gold, silver, cobalt, and copper) and safely remove and transform harmful contaminants like arsenic into benign EPA-approved products for landfill. Tapping into numerous environmental and economic advantages of its proprietary method of bioleaching, BacTech uses naturally-occurring bacteria, harmless to both humans and the environment, to neutralize toxic mining sites with high-pay potential.
BacTech is in early discussions to build its new owner-operated bioleaching facility in Ponce Enriquez, Ecuador where arsenic is well-known to exist alongside gold mining and is investigating the prospects of establishing additional modern mining operations across other areas of Ecuador, Peru, Colombia, and Central America. Where possible, the Company will partner with national and local governments, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and others to assist with the funding of these projects. BacTech is publicly traded on the CSE under the symbol "BAC" and on the OTC as "BCCEF".
For further information contact:
Ross Orr,
President & CEO, BacTech Environmental Corporation
416-813-0303 ext. 222,
Email: borr@bactechgreen.com
Website: www.bactechgreen.com
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Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains "forward-looking information", which may include, but is not limited to, statements with respect to future tailings sites, sampling or other investigations of tailing sites, the Company's ability to make use of infrastructure around tailings sites or operating performance of the Company and its projects. Often, but not always, forward-looking statements can be identified using words such as "plans", "expects", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates", or believes" or variations (including negative variations) of such words and phrases, or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements contained herein are made as of the date of this news release and the Company disclaims, other than as required by law, any obligation to update any forward-looking statements whether because of new information, results, future events, circumstances, or if management's estimates or opinions should change, or otherwise. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, the reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.
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