2026 Metallurgical Program Achieves 90% Copper Recovery And 88% Gold Recovery At The Hope Brook Gold Project
Original announcement by prospectors_exchange on
- Company
- Big Ridge Gold Corp.
- Ticker
- BRAU
- Exchange
- Unavailable
- Region
- Newfoundland
- Primary commodity
- Gold
- Secondary commodities
- Copper, Silver
- Document categories
- Metallurgy
- Extracted
- 2026-10-20 13:02:27 UTC
Analysis by Minestarters Atlas
Atlas analysis published:
Minestarters Atlas analysis
Summary
Big Ridge Gold Corp. reported positive results from its 2026 metallurgical program 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 24% copper, 300 g/t gold, and 93 g/t silver.
Reasoning: The metallurgical program achieved high recoveries for both copper and gold, with the overall gold recovery (88%) outperforming historical milling results at similar feed grades.
Positive factors
- Strong copper and gold recoveries
- High-grade concentrate produced
- Overall gold recovery exceeds historical production levels
- Successful locked-cycle flotation testing
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.”
High Recoverypositive
Recovery at or above the exceptional band for the commodity and processing route.
Why it applies: Achieved 90% copper and 88% gold recovery.
Evidence · text
“2026 Metallurgical Program Achieves 90% Copper Recovery And 88% Gold Recovery”
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
- 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: 90.3% copper recovery is a strong result for a flotation concentrate.
Positive factors
- High recovery to concentrate
Evidence · text
“Locked-cycle flotation produced a concentrate grading approximately 24% copper... 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
- 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: 300 g/t gold in concentrate is a high-grade result.
Positive factors
- High-grade concentrate
Evidence · text
“Locked-cycle flotation produced a concentrate grading approximately... 300 g/t gold”
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
- 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.
Positive factors
- Silver present in concentrate
Evidence · text
“Locked-cycle flotation produced a concentrate grading approximately... 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
flotation and cleaner-tail 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
- flotation and cleaner-tail leaching
- Processing Route
- flotation
- Sample
- overall recovery including concentrate and leached cleaner tails
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: 88% overall gold recovery is strong and improves upon historical performance.
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
rougher 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
- rougher flotation
- Processing Route
- 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: 96.6% gold recovery in rougher flotation is exceptional.
Positive factors
- Very high rougher recovery
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%)
rougher 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
- rougher flotation
- Processing Route
- 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: 98.6% copper recovery in rougher flotation is exceptional.
Positive factors
- Very high rougher recovery
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.