REG - Atalaya Mining PLC - Atalaya to Start Construction of an E-LIX Plant

Atalaya MiningAnnouncement

06/01/2022 07:00

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RNS Number : 5724X  Atalaya Mining PLC  06 January 2022

06 January 2022

Atalaya Mining Plc.

("Atalaya" or the "Company")

 

Atalaya to Start Construction of an E-LIX Plant

Atalaya Mining Plc (AIM:ATYM, TSX:AYM) is pleased to announce that it has
approved the construction of the first phase of an industrial-scale plant
("Phase I") that utilises the E-LIX System ("E-LIX"), which will produce high
value copper and zinc metals from the complex sulphide concentrates sourced
from Proyecto Riotinto.

Highlights

·    Expected to unlock significant value from Atalaya's portfolio of
polymetallic resources in the Riotinto District by materially increasing the
recoveries of copper, zinc, lead and precious metals from complex sulphide
ores.

 

·   Producing high-purity metals on-site will reduce transportation costs,
treatment charges and penalties associated with producing and delivering
conventional concentrates.

 

·   Expected to reduce Atalaya's carbon footprint through a reduction in
land and sea freight and by utilising power from Proyecto Riotinto's planned
solar plant.

 

Following its announcement on 28 October 2020, Atalaya has concluded a
feasibility study that evaluated the technical and economic viability of
producing cathodes from complex sulphide concentrates by applying E-LIX, a new
electrochemical extraction process developed and owned by Lain Technologies
Ltd ("Lain Tech") with the financial support of Atalaya. E-LIX is patented by
Lain Tech.

Relative to conventional flotation techniques, the value creation potential of
E-LIX offers a unique opportunity for Atalaya. As a result, as disclosed in
the 28 October 2020 announcement, the Company has secured certain terms of
exclusivity with Lain Tech for the use of E-LIX within the Iberian Pyrite
Belt.

The E-LIX plant will dissolve the valuable metals contained within the
concentrates. The testwork and system design allows for the dissolution of
chalcopyrite while avoiding the passivation of particles. After copper or
other metals are brought into solution, they can be recovered by conventional
precipitation or solvent extraction followed by electrowinning ("SX-EW").

Phase I plant capacity has been designed to produce between 3,000 to 10,000
tonnes of copper or zinc metal per year depending on the ratio of copper to
zinc in the concentrate feed.

The estimated capex for Phase I is €12 million and the design allows for
unlimited capacity expansion through the addition of multiple lines in
parallel. Atalaya will start the construction of the plant in the coming weeks
and it is expected that the plant will be operational in 2022, including
commissioning.

The decision to approve and construct the Phase I industrial-sized plant
follows over six years of evaluation and de-risking work including continuous
tests at the laboratory, a small pilot plant and finally a semi-industrial
pilot plant.

A semi-industrial E-LIX pilot plant was constructed in late 2019 and has
operated during 2020 and 2021 despite the challenges of the COVID-19 outbreak.
The results of the pilot tests were included in the feasibility study and
successive optimisation work. The long run continuous tests demonstrated the
feasibility of leaching complex polymetallic concentrates with global
recoveries of over 95% for copper and zinc while producing clean metal
precipitates and/or high purity metals.

The use of the E-LIX System has shown the potential to unlock the significant
value from the polymetallic sulphides contained within Atalaya's mineral
resources, including:

·    The polymetallic deposits of San Dionisio, San Antonio, Masa Valverde
and Majadales, all of which are located in the Iberian Pyrite Belt and within
trucking distance of Proyecto Riotinto's modern 15 Mtpa processing facility.

 

·    The significant contained metal within these historical drilled
resources from San Dionisio and Masa Valverde contain over 1.1 million tonnes
of copper, 2.4 million tonnes of zinc, 1.7 million ounces of gold, over 110
million ounces of silver as well as additional lead resources. These figures
are in addition to the over 1 million tonnes of copper reserve at Proyecto
Riotinto's Cerro Colorado orebody and at Proyecto Touro.

 

·    Historical applications of differential flotation within the Iberian
Pyrite Belt in Spain and Portugal have typically resulted in recoveries of 60
- 80% into concentrates for complex copper-zinc polymetallic sulphides, with
even lower recoveries historically reported for lead, silver and gold. The use
of hydrometallurgical systems, such as E-LIX, has demonstrated that base metal
recoveries of over 90% can be achieved.

 

E-LIX is also expected to reduce Atalaya's carbon footprint. By producing
high-purity metals on-site, Atalaya can reduce the transportation costs
associated with delivering concentrates to smelters, avoid treatment and
refining charges associated with converting concentrates into metal, and
eliminate penalties associated with deleterious elements often contained
within concentrates produced in the Iberian Pyrite Belt and elsewhere.  The
E-LIX plant is also expected to utilise the renewable energy that will be
produced by Proyecto Riotinto's planned solar plant.

 

Alberto Lavandeira, CEO commented:

 

"The E-LIX System offers Atalaya a unique opportunity to unlock significant
value from its portfolio of deposits that contain complex polymetallic
mineralisation. Atalaya has worked together with Lain Technologies for many
years in order to test, refine and demonstrate the E-LIX process, providing
the Company with confidence in its potential. In addition to enhancing
recoveries, E-LIX will eliminate penalties associated with deleterious
elements and reduce the costs of transportation and energy, thereby improving
the Company's carbon footprint."

 

 

Contacts:

 SEC Newgate UK             Elisabeth Cowell / Tom Carnegie            + 44 20 3757 6880
 4C Communications          Carina Corbett                             +44 20 3170 7973
 Canaccord Genuity          Henry Fitzgerald-O'Connor / James Asensio  +44 20 7523 8000

 (NOMAD and Joint Broker)
 BMO Capital Markets        Tom Rider / Andrew Cameron                 +44 20 7236 1010

 (Joint Broker)
 Peel Hunt LLP              Ross Allister / David McKeown              +44 20 7418 8900

 (Joint Broker)

 

About Atalaya Mining Plc

Atalaya is an AIM and TSX-listed mining and development group which produces
copper concentrates and silver by-product at its wholly owned Proyecto
Riotinto site in southwest Spain. Atalaya's current operations include the
Cerro Colorado open pit mine and a modern 15 Mtpa processing plant, which has
the potential to become a centralised processing hub for ore sourced from its
wholly owned regional projects around Riotinto that include Proyecto Masa
Valverde and Proyecto Riotinto East. In addition, the Group has a phased,
earn-in agreement for up to 80% ownership of Proyecto Touro, a brownfield
copper project in the northwest of Spain. For further information, visit
www.atalayamining.com (http://www.atalayamining.com)

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