2026 Metallurgical Program Achieves 90% Copper Recovery and 88% Gold Recovery at the Hope Brook Gold Project
Original announcement by newsfile on
- Company
- Big Ridge Gold Corp.
- Ticker
- BRAU
- Exchange
- Unavailable
- Region
- Newfoundland
- Primary commodity
- Gold
- Secondary commodities
- Copper, Silver
- Document categories
- Metallurgy
- Extracted
- 2026-10-19 11:09:00 UTC
Analysis by Minestarters Atlas
Atlas analysis published:
Minestarters Atlas analysis
Summary
Big Ridge Gold Corp. reported successful 2026 metallurgical testwork at the Hope Brook Gold Project, achieving 90.3% copper recovery and 88% overall gold recovery. The program utilized a locked-cycle flotation and cleaner-tail leaching flowsheet, producing a high-grade concentrate containing 300 g/t gold and 24% copper.
Reasoning: The metallurgical program achieved high recoveries for both gold and copper, producing a high-grade concentrate and outperforming historical production benchmarks.
Positive factors
- Strong copper and gold recoveries
- High-grade concentrate produced
- Recoveries exceed historical production figures
- Demonstrated high recovery in rougher flotation
Negative factors
- Requires complex multi-stage flowsheet (flotation + leaching)
Facts used in scoring: 6
Classification and evidence
Mill Routeneutral
Processing via mill or concentrator (CIL, CIP, tank leach, flotation).
Why it applies: The program uses a conventional flotation and leaching flowsheet.
Evidence · text
“Simplified conventional processing flowsheet consisting of primary grinding, copper flotation, concentrate cleaning and leaching of cleaner tailings.”
QA/QC Disclosedpositive · Story-specific tag
Release includes QA/QC disclosure — certified lab, QP sign-off, or stated methods (blanks, standards, duplicates).
Why it applies: The release names a Qualified Person (Stacy Freudigmann) and a consultant (Canenco) and mentions specific testing types.
Evidence · text
“Qualified Person Stacy Freudigmann P.Eng. F.Aus.IMM., Principal SME for Canenco Consulting Group, a Qualified Person within the meaning of NI 43-101”
Heap Leach Routeneutral
Processing via heap leach — lower CAPEX and OPEX, lower recovery expected.
Why it applies: the document describes a heap_leach route ("heap leach")
Gravity Routeneutral
Gravity separation forms a material part of the flowsheet.
Why it applies: the document describes a gravity route ("gravity")
Multi-Domain Testedpositive
Variability across ore domains (oxide, transition, fresh) has been addressed.
Why it applies: 3 distinct composites were tested
Extracted facts
Stored fact records: 6. Some facts used in scoring do not have a stored record.
Metallurgical Results (6)
locked-cycle flotationHope Brook Gold Project · copperRecovery: 90.3 %View all detailsHide details
Identity
- Project
- Hope Brook Gold Project
- Commodity
- copper
- Region
- canada_nl
- Reported Region
- Newfoundland
- Ticker
- BRAU
Test Work
- Program Status
- detailed
- Test Type
- locked-cycle flotation
- Processing Route
- locked-cycle flotation
- Sample
- Locked-cycle flotation concentrate
Recovery
- Recovery
- 90.3 %
- Recovery Basis
- actual_test
- Conc. Grade
- 24
- Conc. Grade Unit
- %
Lab
- Laboratory
- Base Metallurgical Labs
- Consultant
- Canenco Consulting Corp.
Review
- Needs Review
- No
- Historical
- No
Dates
- Event date
- 2026-10-19T00:00:00.000Z
Reasoning: High copper recovery to a high-grade concentrate.
Positive factors
- 90.3% recovery is strong for flotation
Evidence · text
“Locked-cycle flotation produced a concentrate grading approximately 24% copper, 300 g/t gold and 93 g/t silver, with 90.3% copper recovery to concentrate.”
Tags used in scoring
Mill Routeneutral
Processing via mill or concentrator (CIL, CIP, tank leach, flotation).
Why it applies: processing_route matches the flotation signal
locked-cycle flotationHope Brook Gold Project · goldView all detailsHide details
Identity
- Project
- Hope Brook Gold Project
- Commodity
- gold
- Region
- canada_nl
- Reported Region
- Newfoundland
- Ticker
- BRAU
Test Work
- Program Status
- detailed
- Test Type
- locked-cycle flotation
- Processing Route
- locked-cycle flotation
- Sample
- Locked-cycle flotation concentrate
Recovery
- Conc. Grade
- 300
- Conc. Grade Unit
- g/t
Lab
- Laboratory
- Base Metallurgical Labs
- Consultant
- Canenco Consulting Corp.
Review
- Needs Review
- No
- Historical
- No
Dates
- Event date
- 2026-10-19T00:00:00.000Z
Reasoning: High-grade gold in the flotation concentrate.
Positive factors
- High-grade concentrate
Evidence · text
“Locked-cycle flotation produced a concentrate grading approximately 24% copper, 300 g/t gold and 93 g/t silver”
Tags used in scoring
Mill Routeneutral
Processing via mill or concentrator (CIL, CIP, tank leach, flotation).
Why it applies: processing_route matches the flotation signal
locked-cycle flotationHope Brook Gold Project · silverView all detailsHide details
Identity
- Project
- Hope Brook Gold Project
- Commodity
- silver
- Region
- canada_nl
- Reported Region
- Newfoundland
- Ticker
- BRAU
Test Work
- Program Status
- detailed
- Test Type
- locked-cycle flotation
- Processing Route
- locked-cycle flotation
- Sample
- Locked-cycle flotation concentrate
Recovery
- Conc. Grade
- 93
- Conc. Grade Unit
- g/t
Lab
- Laboratory
- Base Metallurgical Labs
- Consultant
- Canenco Consulting Corp.
Review
- Needs Review
- No
- Historical
- No
Dates
- Event date
- 2026-10-19T00:00:00.000Z
Reasoning: Silver reported as a byproduct in the concentrate.
Evidence · text
“Locked-cycle flotation produced a concentrate grading approximately 24% copper, 300 g/t gold and 93 g/t silver”
Tags used in scoring
Mill Routeneutral
Processing via mill or concentrator (CIL, CIP, tank leach, flotation).
Why it applies: processing_route matches the flotation signal
leachingHope Brook Gold Project · goldRecovery: 88 %View all detailsHide details
Identity
- Project
- Hope Brook Gold Project
- Commodity
- gold
- Region
- canada_nl
- Reported Region
- Newfoundland
- Ticker
- BRAU
Test Work
- Program Status
- detailed
- Test Type
- leaching
- Processing Route
- flotation and cleaner-tail leaching
- Sample
- Overall recovery including cleaner tails leaching
Recovery
- Recovery
- 88 %
- Recovery Basis
- actual_test
Lab
- Laboratory
- Base Metallurgical Labs
- Consultant
- Canenco Consulting Corp.
Review
- Needs Review
- No
- Historical
- No
Dates
- Event date
- 2026-10-19T00:00:00.000Z
Reasoning: Strong overall gold recovery using the combined flowsheet.
Positive factors
- Exceeds historical production figures
Evidence · text
“Leaching of the cleaner tails returns overall gold recovery of 88%.”
Tags used in scoring
Mill Routeneutral
Processing via mill or concentrator (CIL, CIP, tank leach, flotation).
Why it applies: processing_route matches the flotation signal
flotationHope Brook Gold Project · goldRecovery: 96.6 %View all detailsHide details
Identity
- Project
- Hope Brook Gold Project
- Commodity
- gold
- Region
- canada_nl
- Reported Region
- Newfoundland
- Ticker
- BRAU
Test Work
- Program Status
- detailed
- Test Type
- flotation
- Processing Route
- rougher flotation
- Sample
- Rougher flotation testing
Recovery
- Recovery
- 96.6 %
- Recovery Basis
- actual_test
Lab
- Laboratory
- Base Metallurgical Labs
- Consultant
- Canenco Consulting Corp.
Review
- Needs Review
- No
- Historical
- No
Dates
- Event date
- 2026-10-19T00:00:00.000Z
Reasoning: Excellent rougher stage performance.
Positive factors
- Very high recovery in rougher stage
Evidence · text
“Up to 96.6% gold recovery ... demonstrated in rougher flotation testing.”
Tags used in scoring
Mill Routeneutral
Processing via mill or concentrator (CIL, CIP, tank leach, flotation).
Why it applies: processing_route matches the flotation signal
High Recoverypositive
Recovery at or above the exceptional band for the commodity and processing route.
Why it applies: 96.6% is at or above the exceptional band (95%)
flotationHope Brook Gold Project · copperRecovery: 98.6 %View all detailsHide details
Identity
- Project
- Hope Brook Gold Project
- Commodity
- copper
- Region
- canada_nl
- Reported Region
- Newfoundland
- Ticker
- BRAU
Test Work
- Program Status
- detailed
- Test Type
- flotation
- Processing Route
- rougher flotation
- Sample
- Rougher flotation testing
Recovery
- Recovery
- 98.6 %
- Recovery Basis
- actual_test
Lab
- Laboratory
- Base Metallurgical Labs
- Consultant
- Canenco Consulting Corp.
Review
- Needs Review
- No
- Historical
- No
Dates
- Event date
- 2026-10-19T00:00:00.000Z
Reasoning: Excellent rougher stage performance.
Positive factors
- Very high copper recovery in rougher stage
Evidence · text
“98.6% copper recovery demonstrated in rougher flotation testing.”
Tags used in scoring
Mill Routeneutral
Processing via mill or concentrator (CIL, CIP, tank leach, flotation).
Why it applies: processing_route matches the flotation signal
High Recoverypositive
Recovery at or above the exceptional band for the commodity and processing route.
Why it applies: 98.6% is at or above the exceptional band (92%)
How Atlas produces this analysis
Minestarters Atlas uses automated extraction to summarize mining announcements, identify reported measurements, and classify supporting evidence. Sentiment reflects the extracted narrative and classification rules; it is an interpretation, not a reported measurement. Evidence quotes and context are provided where available. Missing data, low-confidence results, and review flags indicate limitations. Check the original publisher announcement before relying on an interpretation.