HENDERSON, Nev.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Ireland Inc. (Pink: IRLD) provided an update on the technical program of its ongoing precious metals extraction process at the Columbus Project, located in Esmeralda County, Nevada.
Technical Program and Extraction Update
- Recent onsite laboratory extraction optimization work has simplified the leach process and successfully separated and collected precious metals from the Columbus Project sands. XRF analysis and ICP/MS analysis of the precious metals collected in the lab has indicated that this leach protocol had the potential to reach our extraction goal of 0.2 opt Au.
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This laboratory success led the technical team to begin to conduct a
series (3-4 tests) of larger scale (200 – 400lbs.) tests at Ireland’s
pilot plant in order to demonstrate the precious metals extraction
process on a larger scale.
- Smelting of a sample of the concentrates produced from the first pilot plant test of 250lbs of material, has demonstrated the successful extraction of gold within the gold grade range expected.
- In this test, the refractory coating on the gold that Ireland has been attempting to remove was removed.
- Ireland is now in the process of conducting its second large test (300 – 400lbs) to determine if the process is repeatable and that the technical team can be assured that the first test results were not anomalous.
- When the series of tests is completed (4-6 weeks) IRLD will report the numerical test results.
Financial Update
- As was reported in its Quarterly Report for the period ended September 30, 2017, Ireland currently has sufficient funds to continue with its current technical program into March 2018 without making changes to the operations program. Ireland is currently evaluating all expenses to extend its financial position as long as possible.
Readers are cautioned that the materials sampled for the tests shown above are all from a single area within the Columbus Project site, and may not be indicative of results for the rest of the North Sand Zone or the Columbus Project as a whole. Ireland believes that, because the project site is comprised of alluvial soil, mineralization deposits are wide spread throughout the Columbus Project site. Third party chain of custody protocols were not observed during current testing as Ireland personnel are assisting in sample collection and preparation. In addition, in the past, Ireland has encountered difficulties when attempting to translate extraction results achieved under laboratory conditions to the larger scale on-site pilot plant. Ireland believes that this risk is reduced because the current pilot plant was used in its most recent successful test work reported above
About Ireland Inc.
Based in Henderson, Nevada, Ireland Inc. (www.irelandminerals.com) is a minerals exploration and development Company that targets properties containing large-scale deposits of precious metals in the southwestern United States. In early 2008, Ireland completed the acquisition of the Columbus Project located in Esmeralda County, NV, near Tonopah.
Forward-Looking Statements
This document may include statements that constitute “forward-looking” statements, usually containing the words “believe,” “estimate,” “project,” “expect,” “plans” or similar expressions. Forward-looking statements inherently involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, Ireland’s limited operating history, future trends in mineral prices, the availability of capital, geological or mechanical difficulties affecting Ireland’s planned geological work programs, and uncertainties surrounding estimates of mineralized material. Extraction rates and mineralization grades from test results on individual samples may not be representative of extraction rates or grades that can be obtained from other samples or from commercial scale extraction efforts. Additional exploration work will be required to fully define the extent of the Columbus Project’s mineralized areas and before proved or probable mineral reserves can be established. There is no assurance that the results of Ireland’s exploration of pre-feasibility programs will result in a decision to enter into commercial production. In addition, Ireland’s actual financial and capital requirements may be greater than projected and there is no assurance that Ireland will be able to raise sufficient financing to proceed with its exploration and development plans or finance its ongoing business activities. Ireland undertakes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements in this document.
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) permits U.S. mining companies to disclose in their filings with the SEC only “reserve estimates,” which are those parts of a mineral deposit that Ireland can economically and legally extract or produce at the time the estimate is made. Ireland may use certain terms in this press release such as “measured,” “indicated,” and “inferred” “resources.” SEC guidelines strictly prohibit U.S. registered companies from including these terms in their filings with the SEC. Further, inferred resource estimates generally may not be used as the basis for pre-feasibility or feasibility studies. There are no assurances that any resource estimates can be economically or legally extracted or produced or that any of these resource estimates will ever be converted to reserves. There are also no assurances that any inferred resource estimates will be converted into indicated or measured resources. The mineralization estimates provided in this release are based on internal calculations and have not been independently confirmed.
Investors are advised to carefully review the reports and documents that Ireland Inc. files from time to time with the SEC, particularly its Annual, Quarterly and Current Reports, which may be obtained from the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml.
