PROCESSING: GoGold’s SART plant up and running at Parral

[caption id="attachment_1003729330" align="alignnone" width="550"] GoGold is reprocessing the tailings at the Parral project with the help of a SART plant supplied by BQE Water.[/caption] The SART plant at GoGold Resources' Parral tailings reprocessing facility in Chihuahua, Mexico, has been successfully commissioned, reaching steady production in early March. The SART (sulphidation, acidification, recycling and thickening) process makes gold recovery more efficient in instances where cyanide-soluble base metals, such as copper, are present. The US$2.6-million plant, which regenerates cyanide and recovers a high-grade, saleable copper sulphide product, has reduced the need for purchased cyanide by 20%, resulting in savings of $200,000 in March. Cyanide is the single largest operating cost at Parral. GoGold says the revenue from sales of copper sulphide precipitate offsets the cost of operating the SART plant. “Our team at Parral has successfully adapted agglomerated heap leaching to old mined waste at Parral, and the SART is a further optimization of this innovation,” said Brad Langille, GoGold's president and CEO. “The operation produces low-cost gold and silver ounces while providing environmental remediation for the town of Parral. We see this expertise, which we’ve developed over the last six years of operation, as a real asset to the company that may be applicable to the millions of tonnes of mined waste in Mexico and beyond.” Parral, which lies within the town limits of Hidalgo del Parral, achieved commercial production in 2015 and generated 584,988 silver-equivalent oz. last year. The SART plant was designed, built and commissioned by Vancouver-based BQE Water. GoGold is also advancing its Los Ricos exploration project in Jalisco state. In response to a federal government order suspending activities of non-essential businesses until the end of April, the company announced on Apr. 2 that drilling at Los Ricos would be suspended for 30 days. Non-essential activities at Parral will also be suspended, but the operation of pumps to maintain solution balance at the heap-leach operation will continue, meaning that it will continue to produce silver and gold. GoGold expects only a minimal impact on second-quarter production. For more information, visit www.gogoldresources.com.