Classic Minerals Limited announced that it has validated the decision taken to invest in the Gekko range of equipment for processing Kat Gap gold ore. The test work completed by Nagrom in the laboratory1 has now been confirmed with the Gekko Inline Pressure Jig and Gekko Spinner delivering more than 95% of the liberated gold through a simple gravity process at a crush size of less than 2mm. The Gekko equipment also supported the decision that a low-cost plant will be able to deliver outstanding results.

The plant configuration assists Classic in having a greener, chemical free footprint as there is no chemical involvement and the power usage is also very low compared to traditional gold processing plants. The Gekko Jig used, in the pilot plant setup, was an IPJ 1000 capable of processing a throughput of up to 30 tons per hour. Classic also has a Gekko IPJ 2400 which has a nameplate capacity of up to 100 tons per hour.

The Pilot is capable of processing 10 tonnes of feed per hour, however, was run at 1-2 tph during the pilot in order to focus on understanding and optimising process dynamics rather than throughput rate. The Pilot is upgradeable to 100tph utilising the equipment which is already owned by Classic.