Bell Copper Reports Big Sandy Metallurgy
Original announcement by tmx on
- Company
- Bell Copper Corporation
- Ticker
- BCU
- Exchange
- TSX
- Region
- Arizona
- Primary commodity
- Copper
- Secondary commodities
- Molybdenum, Silver, Rhenium
- Document categories
- Metallurgy
- Extracted
- 2026-08-21 12:02:59 UTC
Analysis by Minestarters Atlas
Minestarters Atlas analysis
Summary
Bell Copper reports successful preliminary metallurgical testing on the Big Sandy project in Arizona. Results show copper recoveries of 82-84% via froth flotation and up to 96% via acid leaching, alongside potential rhenium credits.
Reasoning: The metallurgical results show high recovery potential for both flotation and leaching routes on a significant copper-rich interval, with additional strategic metal credits.
Positive factors
- High copper recovery (82-84%) via flotation
- Excellent acid leach recovery (96%)
- Presence of strategic rhenium credits
- Low deleterious element concentrations
Negative factors
- Low molybdenum feed grade makes concentration difficult
Facts used in scoring: 4
Classification and evidence
Free Millingpositive
Simple, clean ore amenable to standard processing without oxidation.
Why it applies: Chalcocite and bornite mineralogy described as amenable to standard flotation and leaching.
Evidence · text
“A conventional froth flotation approach was found to be successful at recovering and concentrating the value minerals.”
Mill Routeneutral
Processing via mill or concentrator (CIL, CIP, tank leach, flotation).
Why it applies: Testing included froth flotation which is a standard mill-based process.
Evidence · text
“chalcocite (copper sulfide) was recovered via froth flotation”
Extracted facts
Stored fact records: 4. Some facts used in scoring do not have a stored record.
Metallurgical Results (4)
flotationcopperRecovery: 83 %Head Grade: 0.41Head Grade Unit: %View all detailsHide details
Identity
- Commodity
- copper
- Ticker
- BCU
Test Work
- Program Status
- preliminary
- Test Type
- flotation
- Processing Route
- froth flotation
- Sample
- BS-3 chalcocite interval 1302-1502m (composite sample)
- Grind P80
- 120 µm
Recovery
- Recovery
- 83 %
- Recovery Basis
- actual_test
- Head Grade
- 0.41
- Head Grade Unit
- %
- Conc. Grade
- 25
- Conc. Grade Unit
- %
Lab
- Laboratory
- SGS Canada Inc.
Review
- Needs Review
- No
- Historical
- No
Dates
- Event date
- 2022-07-21T00:00:00.000Z
Reasoning: 82-84% recovery into a 25% Cu concentrate is a strong result for a porphyry target.
Positive factors
- Strong recovery for a preliminary batch test
acid leachcopperRecovery: 96 %Head Grade: 0.41Head Grade Unit: %View all detailsHide details
Identity
- Commodity
- copper
- Ticker
- BCU
Test Work
- Program Status
- preliminary
- Test Type
- acid leach
- Processing Route
- ferric leaching in 30 g/L sulphuric acid
- Sample
- BS-3 chalcocite interval 1302-1502m (whole ore ground to P80 120 um)
- Grind P80
- 120 µm
Recovery
- Recovery
- 96 %
- Recovery Basis
- actual_test
- Head Grade
- 0.41
- Head Grade Unit
- %
Lab
- Laboratory
- SGS Canada Inc.
Review
- Needs Review
- No
- Historical
- No
Dates
- Event date
- 2022-07-21T00:00:00.000Z
Reasoning: 96% extraction via leaching is exceptional for this type of ore.
Positive factors
- Very high extraction rate
- Acid generation from pyrite oxidation reduces reagent costs
flotationsilverRecovery: 68 %Head Grade: 130Head Grade Unit: g/tView all detailsHide details
Identity
- Commodity
- silver
- Ticker
- BCU
Test Work
- Program Status
- preliminary
- Test Type
- flotation
- Sample
- BS-3 copper concentrate (25% Cu)
Recovery
- Recovery
- 68 %
- Recovery Basis
- actual_test
- Head Grade
- 130
- Head Grade Unit
- g/t
Review
- Needs Review
- No
- Historical
- No
Dates
- Event date
- 2022-07-21T00:00:00.000Z
Reasoning: Silver recovery of 68% tracks with copper and provides a valuable byproduct credit.
Positive factors
- Significant silver credit in concentrate
Fact 4molybdenumView all detailsHide details
Identity
- Commodity
- molybdenum
- Ticker
- BCU
Test Work
- Sample
- BS-3 best test Mo cleaner concentrate
Recovery
- Conc. Grade
- 20.7
- Conc. Grade Unit
- %
Review
- Needs Review
- No
- Historical
- No
Dates
- Event date
- 2022-07-21T00:00:00.000Z
Reasoning: While a 20.7% Mo concentrate was achieved, the low feed grade (0.005%) makes this a challenging byproduct.
Positive factors
- Achieved a high-grade cleaner concentrate in best test
Negative factors
- Low feed grade makes consistent production difficult
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.