Liberty Gold Validates Predicted Operating Gold Leach Recoveries Through Bulk Column Tests at Run-of-Mine Sizing
ROM leach validation confirms Black Pine economics, with near-term catalysts focused on permitting and financing.
Liberty Gold Corp. (LGD) released Phase 6 bulk column leach test results for its Black Pine Oxide Gold Project, confirming an average weighted gold extraction of 72.4% from Run-of-Mine (ROM) sized material weighing 10-15 tonnes with a P80 of 2" to 8". These results validate the Feasibility Study (FS) assumptions, demonstrating that gold extraction is insensitive to particle size. Specifically, reducing rock size from 10" to 1" increases extraction by less than 3%, confirming that crushing is not economically justified.
Leach kinetics proved favorable, with 90% of total extraction achieved within 36 days on average. In terms of specific unit performance, Rangefront Ppos achieved 95% extraction, exceeding the model, while I-pit Pold achieved 51.9%, aligning with the model. Reagent consumption and permeability tests demonstrated expected commercial-scale performance, although one sample underperformed due to high clay content, which will be managed via blending.
Future work includes Phase 8 (legacy heap pad), Phase 9 (re-assay campaign), Phase 10 (Rangefront core), Phase 11 (low-grade samples), and Phase 12 (waste dump material).
Liberty Gold Corp. (LGD) released a metallurgical validation of its Feasibility Study on September 8, 2026, just one week after the initial announcement. The study had already modeled a run-of-mine heap leach strategy without crushing, and these results confirm that technical assumption. This confirmation removes a key execution risk and supports the projected $1,566/oz all-in sustaining cost and $411.4 million in initial capital costs.
The results align with previous expectations, introducing no new economic upside or downside. While the 95% extraction rate at Rangefront represents a positive outlier, the overall weighted average of 72.4% matches the Feasibility Study model. This follow-up serves as an incremental de-risking step rather than a market-moving surprise, reinforcing the project's technical viability ahead of permitting and potential financing. The market likely already priced in these metallurgical outcomes following the initial Feasibility Study release.
Liberty Gold Corp. is a development-stage gold company focused on the Black Pine Oxide Gold Project in southeastern Idaho, USA. Black Pine is a 100%-owned, large-scale, long-life oxide gold deposit utilizing a technically straightforward, open-pit, Run-of-Mine (ROM) heap-leach operation.
The September 2026 Feasibility Study outlines a 16-year mine life with a Probable Mineral Reserve of 4.04 million ounces of gold. Projected production averages 176,700 oz Au/year, peaking at 294,600 oz in Year 13. The economic profile at $3,250/oz Au includes an NPV(5%) of $2.397 billion, an IRR of 60.5%, and an All-In Sustaining Cost (AISC) of $1,566/oz.
Permitting is advancing under the FAST-41 federal framework, with the US Forest Service having published a Notice of Intent for the Environmental Impact Statement in April 2026.