Altiplano Receives Approval for Industry Leading Water Recovery Circuit and Iron Separation at the El Peñón Processing Facility
Altiplano Receives Approval for Industry
Leading Water Recovery Circuit and Iron
Separation at the El Peñón Processing Facility
Edmonton, Alberta--(Newsfile Corp. - December 16, 2021) -
Altiplano Metals Inc
. (TSXV: APN) (WKN:
A2JNFG) ("
Altiplano
" or the "Company") is pleased to provide an update on the construction phase at
the El Peñón processing facility to support the Farellon Iron-Oxide-Copper-Gold (Cu-Au) mine located
near La Serena, Chile.
The Company is pleased to report the application to incorporate an iron separator (designed to recover
high value iron oxide) and a high efficiency water recovery circuit (designed to produce dry tailings), has
been approved by the Chilean mining authority. Addition of this equipment into the processing circuit
provides the opportunity to capture high value iron which can be sold to generate a secondary income
and, with the removal of the iron, reduce the overall tailings output by 50%. The dewatering stack will
generate a dry tailings product that can be moved and stored in an environmentally efficient manner
which replaces the need for a conventional tailings dam system. In addition, the de-watering stack circuit
will reduce the overall freshwater consumption needed at the plant by approximately 75%. The
equipment has been newly manufactured and will be delivered from storage in Chile to the site next
week. Civil work such as pad levelling, electrical, and plumbing is underway in preparation to install the
equipment.
CEO Alastair McIntyre comments "We are pleased to receive this important approval as the next step in
completing our processing facility. With our processing design, APN will be one of the first companies in
the Chilean small mining sector to implement an industry-leading environmental process focussed on
water conservation and waste reduction. Water is an important resource in Chile and our process is
designed to preserve this precious resource. I believe our best practice approach to sustainable mining
and environmentally friendly processing will minimize our footprint and establish APN as a leader in the
Chilean small mining sector."
Plant Description
The APN processing facility will employ modern high efficiency flotation circuits that focus on the
recovery of copper and gold while also utilizing a magnetic separation system for the recovery of
magnetite and other iron minerals (Figure 1). The circuit will use a filter press system for copper
concentrate and tails and a disc filter for the iron concentrate. All systems are designed to focus on water
conservation and reducing total tails output. The combined process is designed to reduce the total
material reporting to tailings by up to 50%, compared to the standard practice of copper processing
plants treating iron oxide copper gold (IOCG) deposits.
Water will be recovered and recycled thus
ensuring water is reused efficiently, with an expected reduction in freshwater consumption by
approximately 75% over conventional systems.
Typically, standard plant configurations for small mining
are limited to recovery by flotation without efficient water recovery systems. In addition, moisture content
in the tailings will be reduced to approximately 10% to 15% through the filter press system and placed in
a dry stack tailings facility. This additional process will significantly reduce water loss to evaporation
compared to conventional tailings dam. The processing facilty completion date is scheduled for Q1
2022.
Figure 1. Processing Plant Flow Sheet.
To view an enhanced version of Figure 1, please visit:
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In addition to the conservation of water, magnetic separation can recover up to half of the plant feed as a
saleable iron concentrate. A total of 1,850 tonnes of iron oxide is expected to be recovered per month
and can represent a significant portion of revenue combined with the sale of the copper-gold
concentrate.
The circuit takes advantage of magnetic properties of the iron mineralization in the mill feed and does
not require additional grinding or dewatering as the feed to magnetic separators is tailings or rejects of
the flotation circuit.
This process greatly reduces the quantity of tailings that needs disposal in a tailings
storage facility while maximizing the recovery of all minerals in mill feed, thus reducing the overall
environmental footprint of the mining process.
Figure 2. Schematic Illustration of the Magnetic and Drying Facilities.
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A schematic video illustration of the mill operation can be viewed through the following link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtbQcP0zqUs
Cannot view this video?
Visit:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtbQcP0zqUs
Altiplano has generated greater than US$7.2 million from the recovery and sale of approximately 3.6
million pounds of copper with an average grade of 1.74% Cu (2018 Q1-2021 Q3). Cash flow has been
re-invested into equipment, underground drilling, expanding underground development, enhancing
ventilation to increase productivity and capacity, and the commencement of the permitted El Peñón fit-
for-purpose mill and flotation plant located 15 km from the Farellon site.
About Altiplano
Altiplano Metals is a growing gold, silver, and copper company focused on the Americas. The Company
has a diversified portfolio of assets that include an operating copper-gold-iron mine, development near
term producing gold-copper projects, and exploration land packages with district-scale potential.
Altiplano is focused on creating long-term stakeholder value through developing safe and sustainable
production, reinvesting into exploration, and pursuing acquisition opportunities to complement its
existing portfolio. Management has a substantial record of success in capitalizing on opportunity,
overcoming challenges and building shareholder value. Altiplano trades on the Toronto Venture
Exchange trading under the symbol APN and the Frankfurt Exchange under the symbol A2JNFG.
John Williamson, B.Sc., P.Geol., a Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101, has reviewed, and
approved the technical contents of this document.
Altiplano is part of the Metals Group of companies, managed by an award-winning team of professionals
who stand for technical excellence, painstaking project selection and uncompromising corporate
governance, with a proven ability to capitalize on investment opportunities and deliver shareholder
returns.
www.metalsgroup.com
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD
/s/ "John Williamson"
Chairman
For further information, please contact:
Alastair McIntyre, President and CEO.
Tel: (416) 434-3799
Jeremy Yaseniuk, Director
Tel: (604) 773-1467
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the
policies of the (TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this
release.
This release includes certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking statements". All
statements in this release, other than statements of historical facts, that address exploration drilling,
exploitation activities and events or developments that the Company expects are forward-looking
statements. A qualified person has not done sufficient work to classify any historical estimates as
current mineral resources or mineral reserves and the issuer is not treating the historical estimates as
current mineral resources or mineral reserves. The Farellon mine was previously in production dating
back to the 1970's with a reported historical production (to a depth of 70 m) yielding approximately
300,000 tonnes at an average grade of 2.5% copper and 0.5g/t gold. This material was processed
locally and sold to ENAMI. Altiplano is relying upon past production records, underground sampling
and related activities and current diamond drilling to estimate grade and widths of the mineralization
to reactivate production. The decision to commence production on the Farellon deposit is not based
on a feasibility study of mineral reserves demonstrating economic and technical viability and there is
increased uncertainty and economic and technical risks of failure associated with any production
decision. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking
statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future
performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in the forward-
looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-
looking statements include market prices, exploitation and exploration successes, continuity of
mineralization, uncertainties related to the ability to obtain necessary permits, licenses and title and
delays due to third party opposition, changes in government policies regarding mining and natural
resource exploration and exploitation, and continued availability of capital and financing, and general
economic, market or business conditions. Investors are cautioned that any such statements are not
guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those
projected in the forward-looking statements. For more information on the Company, investors should
review the Company's continuous disclosure filings that are available at
www.sedar.com
.
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