Resolute seeks gold from sand and gravel

A pilot plant designed to recover heavy minerals from sand and gravel has started up in northern Italy. The plant, built by Vancouver- based Resolute Resources (VSE), will test the feasibility of extracting gold, garnets and other heavy minerals from existing sand and gravel plants on the Ticino River. “The streets of Italy are literally being paved with gold,” said Robert Swenarchuk, Resolute’s financial consultant. Rather than waste this valuable commodity on Italy’s highways, Resolute plans to extract the gold using a simple and inexpensive gravity separation process. At cash costs of less than US$100 per oz., Resolute’s portable mill may be able to extract up to 25,000 oz. of gold per year from the gravel operations, he said.

The company is also testing garnet recoverability in light of the mineral’s increasing importance to the abrasive blasting industry. The European Economic Community has recently banned the use of silica, normally used as a metal abrasive, because of health concerns.

Resolute is familiar with heavy mineral extraction — it has a gold recovery operation in the black sands of Montana. So when a company geologist visited his hometown of Turin, he immediately recognized the opportunity for a low-cost Italian operation. According to Swenarchuk, local gold workings date back to Roman times and currently an estimated 600-800 similar plants operate within the extensive drainage area around Milan.

Resolute has retained Vancouver- based Proton Systems as project operator. As part of the agreement, Proton will test the potential of using a new precious metal extraction process called Air Sparged Hydocyclone (ASH). Resolute has a 50% interest in the U.S. company that is developing the new technology.

Proton will feed the pilot plant at a rate of about 350 tons per day until the end of July. The results of the test will form the basis for the feasibility study.