Neometals Limited has hit paydirt with the latest round of metallurgical testwork at its Ironclad gold deposit in WA’s Mid West region, delivering impressive overall gold recoveries of up to 97.9 per cent and further de-risking its path to near-term production.
The second phase of testwork on seven composite samples from the deposit, part of the company’s broader Barrambie gold project 60km north-northwest of Sandstone, has confirmed the ore is amenable to a conventional gravity and leach processing flowsheet.
The results showed a significant gravity-recoverable gold component ranging from 10 per cent to 35.1 per cent, with an impressive average overall gold recovery of 91 per cent. Notably, no sulphide minerals were detected, suggesting the ore is free-milling and can be treated through a simple, low-cost plant.
The latest results support the outcome of the sighter metallurgical testwork undertaken last November and, according to management, exceed the gold recovery assumptions used in the March 2026 scoping study for the project.
Neometals Limited managing director Chris Reed said: “These results are in line with previous metallurgical testwork and confirm that Ironclad ores are amenable to processing via a conventional gravity and leach flowsheet. Gold recoveries exceeded the assumptions used in the scoping study, with additional testwork aiming to understand the potential to further improve recoveries.”
The results are a significant tick for the company as it progresses Ironclad towards production via a clever joint venture with mining services contractor BML Ventures. The deal, inked in April, provides Neometals with a funded pathway to develop Ironclad, with BML set to manage and fund the open-pit mining operation in return for a 50:50 profit share.
The BML partnership will bring proven open‑pit gold development expertise, an owner‑operator mining fleet and well-established toll-milling relationships.
Although Ironclad currently hosts a modest resource of 285,000 tonnes at 1.6 grams per tonne gold for 15,000 ounces, with more than 85 per cent of the ounces being in the indicated category, it is being positioned as a near-term, small-scale starter operation. The plan is to use the early cash flow to unlock the value of the wider and vastly underexplored Barrambie greenstone belt.
The Barrambie project covers 357 square kilometres, which takes in an estimated 40km of north-northwesterly strike along the greenstone belt, an extensive patch of prospective ground that has seen minimal modern gold exploration since the 1990s.
The belt has a serious pedigree, with several historical mines boasting a whopping average grade of 24.8 g/t gold. In September last year, this prospectivity led Neometals to define a massive exploration target for the project, ranging from 335,000 to 775,000 ounces of gold.
With Ironclad looking like the opening act, Neometals is already finalising work plans for its 2027 budget, with priority reverse circulation drilling planned across a suite of brownfields targets including Ironclad North, Golden Treasure, Silver Lining, Woodies and Kismet. The company is also investigating the impressive copper potential at Barrambie, with drilling due to start this month.
With the metallurgy for Ironclad now looking solid and a funded partner in place, Neometals is moving quickly to push the project towards a final investment decision.
Infill and northern extension drilling at the deposit is scheduled to kick off in two weeks, a native title agreement is being finalised and technical studies are being wrapped up in preparation for approvals.
For a project that was a standing start just a couple of years ago, the pace is picking up. With a proven processing route now confirmed and a partner footing the development bills, Ironclad looks set to provide the early cash flow to test the theory that it is just the tip of a much larger gold-bearing iceberg at Barrambie.
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By Doug Bright
