Join our daily newsletter At The Bell to receive exclusive market insights
- Strong gold recoveries from bottle roll testing.
- All samples recorded rapid leaching.
- Between 75% to 80% gold recovery achieved in first 72 hours.
- Column leach testwork underway on crushed bulk composite samples.
Norwest Minerals (ASX:NWM) has obtained “outstanding” results from amenability and recovery testwork on oxide and transition composite samples from the Bulgera project in Western Australia.
Listen to the HotCopper podcast for in-depth discussions and insights on all the biggest headlines from throughout the week. On Spotify, Apple, and more.
Initial bottle roll testing of coarse-crushed core samples has delivered high gold recoveries, fast leach times and exceptionally low reagent consumption.
In testing by ALS Laboratories all samples recorded rapid leaching, achieving 75% to 80% gold recovery within the first 72 hours.
CEO, Charles Schaus, said results to date have highlighted the strong potential for low-cost gold heap leach processing.
“These metallurgical results mark an important step forward for Bulgera and strongly reinforce our view that the project is well suited to low-cost gold heap leach development,” he said.
“Achieving consistently high gold recoveries at coarse crush sizes, together with rapid leach kinetics and minimal reagent use, is exactly the combination we look for in a commercially robust heap leach operation.
“With column leach tests now underway and Orelogy engaged to lead the scoping study, we are rapidly building the technical foundations needed to advance Bulgera toward a development decision.”
Column leach testing simulates full-scale heap leach conditions by stacking crushed material in vertical columns and irrigating it with a leaching solution over several months.
It measures gold recovery, leach kinetics, percolation and solution flow, and reagent requirements at realistic heap heights. The results are essential for designing heap leach pads, estimating operating costs, and validating that recoveries observed in bottle roll tests can be achieved in a commercial heap.
Norwest has appointed consultants Orelogy Mining to advise on completion of a Bulgera gold heap leach scoping study.
Orelogy will lead the Bulgera scoping study, optimising the new 2026 resource model and integrating the detailed technical inputs required to support a robust assessment.
Elsewhere, consultants MBS Environmental have completed an environmental approvals strategy to be incorporated into the heap leach scoping study.
The indicated and inferred gold resources at Bulgera now totals 23.8 million tonnes at 0.65 grams per tonne (g/t) gold for 501,000 ounces, incorporate all historical drilling up to 2004 and Norwest’s drilling from 2019 to 2025 which includes the 2025 phases one and two RC drill programs.
NWM is up 8.33% to 1.3¢. Mkt cap $12.97M.
Join the discussion: See what Hot Copper users are saying about Norwest Minerals and be part of the conversations that move the markets.
The material provided in this article is for information only and should not be treated as investment advice. Viewers are encouraged to conduct their own research and consult with a certified financial advisor before making any investment decisions. For full disclaimer information, please click here.
