Chesapeake Gold Advances Heap Oxidation Technology
News related to:Chesapeake Gold Corp · 2 min read
Columbia, (Newsfile Corp. - September 22, 2026) - Chesapeake Gold Corp., a Vancouver-based company, has announced significant advancements in its proprietary heap oxidation technology at its Metates project in Durango, Mexico. The technology, which has been in development for several phases, has now demonstrated improved precious metal recoveries while reducing the required oxidation time.
According to Jean-Paul Tsotsos, the company's Chief Executive Officer, the third phase of Metates' metallurgical testing has highlighted several key improvements. The new procedures implemented in this phase better simulate actual mine operations, achieving better gold and silver recoveries in a reduced 90-day oxidation time compared to the 240-day and 180-day periods of the Phase II and Phase I tests, respectively.
In the Massive Intrusive domain, which represents the majority of the future mine plan, the precious metal recoveries achieved 70% for gold and 61% for silver over the shortened 90-day oxidation phase. This is a significant improvement compared to the Phase I test program, where gold recoveries increased significantly, while silver recoveries doubled as the oxidation time halved. Tsotsos noted that initial Phase III recoveries were broadly similar to Phase II but were achieved in nearly a third of the oxidation time.
The Intrusive Breccia domain, which represents a smaller portion of the overall deposit, also showed significant recovery improvements. Here, precious metal recoveries increased to 57% for gold and 60% for silver over a similar 180-day oxidation phase. Compared to the Phase I test program, precious metal recoveries nearly doubled over the same oxidation time.
The company is also exploring the potential benefits of the High Pressure Grinding Roll (HPGR) system, which showed marked improvement in gold and silver recoveries when used in conjunction with the heap oxidation process. The HPGR system, when run in parallel, increased gold and silver recoveries by 16% and 23%, respectively, to 47% and 65%.
The Metates project hosts one of the largest undeveloped silver deposits globally, with 423.2 million ounces of silver at 14.3 g/t within 921.2 million tonnes in the Measured and Indicated Mineral Resource category, and a further 59.0 million ounces of silver at 13.2 g/t within 139.5 million tonnes in the Inferred Mineral Resource category. The initial results of the Phase III program demonstrate a potential 15% increase in silver recoveries, which would have a significant positive impact on the project's economics.
The company is also advancing the Technology to other properties, with a growing pipeline of third-party testwork. The first round of third-party testwork is nearing completion, with results to be released when available. Interest in the Technology's sulphide precious metal unlocking capability has continued to gain momentum, with the company receiving samples from three new projects, bringing the total number of projects participating in the Technology testwork to six.
The company intends to release the remaining results for the Phase III program and third-party testwork as they become available. The next steps include expanding the HPGR program with heap oxidation and developing plans for a pilot plant demonstration facility. The timing of the prefeasibility study remains contingent on the successful recovery of the San Vicente 3 concession to achieve the optimal valuation for this study.
Chesapeake Gold Corp. continues to focus on advancing its proprietary heap oxidation technology and expanding its application to other properties, aiming to generate significant economic value.