PPX Mining Corp. announced excellent results of a first metallurgical test of sulfide ore. The samples used come from 3 diamond drill holes carried out between 2010-2012 in the southern section of the Callanquitas East mineralized breccia below the 3,200 elevation.

Current oxide mining activities are to the north. Historically, the Callanquitas deposit has been focused on this oxidized ore, and these first metallurgical results on sulfide ore are encouraging due to the high recoveries of both gold and silver, as well as the elevated silver content compared to the oxide ore. As of March 23, 2023, there are only 5 drill holes with sulfide information in the Callanquitas Este breccia and only 2 drill holes in the Callanquitas Oeste breccia.

These drill holes were validated in the 2018-2019 pre-feasibility study. Further exploration will be carried out in the near future. A composite was made from 3 samples associated to elevation 3,150-3,200, assaying 5.39 gr/t gold and 970 gr/t silver.

Base Met Laboratories from Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada grounded this composite to a nominal 80% passing 75 microns. Gravity concentration was used, followed by flotation with a strong xanthate collector. The results showed a recovery to concentrate of 94.1% of the gold and 96.9% of the silver.

The concentrate assayed 20 gr/t gold and 3720 gr/t silver.