Cerrado Gold Confirms Ability to Produce 67% High Purity, Direct Reduction Iron Grade Concentrates at Its Mont Sorcier Iron Ore Project in Quebec - Seite 2

The test work program was designed to evaluate alternative processing flowsheets to maximize the value of the project as compared to the previous 43-101 Preliminary Economic Assessment completed in July 2022 and to assess the capability of producing a high purity iron concentrate, with low deleterious elements, suitable for direct reduction.

Composite samples representative of the Life of Mine material were processed at the laboratory scale through the following stages:

• The material was ground to a size of minus 1.7 mm and was subjected to a magnetic separation process:
  • The concentrate of the first magnetic separation stage, the cobber stage, was reground to a P₈₀ of 106µm and submitted to a rougher magnetic separation process;
  • The rougher concentrate was then reground to a P₈₀ of 38µm, and magnetite was recovered in a final cleaning magnetic separation stage.
• The magnetic concentrate was then processed through a hydroseparation step to remove low density fine material, followed by a sulfur flotation step aimed at reducing the sulfur content in the concentrate. These processing steps led to the production of a concentrate grading 65% Iron, 3% silica with a sulfur content below 0.4%, for an iron recovery of 75%, which was in accordance with the previous PEA results.
• The concentrate was then processed through an additional reverse iron flotation stage to assess the capability of producing a low silica concentrate. Successful tests led to the production of a 67% iron concentrate, with combined silica and alumina grades below 2.3% (SiO₂ ≈ 1.8% Al₂O₃ ≈ 0.5%) and sulfur content below 0.4% for an iron recovery of 61%.

The results generated from this test work program represent a significant step forward compared to previous results and demonstrate not only that a base case of 65% iron concentrate is readily achievable but also that the production of high purity 67% iron concentrates is now possible. Going forward, continued work will focus on flowsheet and grind size optimization, in addition to confirmation of the test work results obtained on the composite on variability samples. Currently, the deposit is defined by five domains, and work will now shift to understanding the best sequence for mining and processing to deliver the optimal production profile and enhance project economics.