Bayhorse submits concentrate samples for testing

Executive Summary

• Bayhorse Silver Inc. has submitted flotation concentrate samples from its Bayhorse Silver Mine in Oregon to Allihies Engineering Inc. for proprietary antimony leaching testing.
• The testing aims to determine if Allihies's selective industrial alkaline leaching (ASL) technology can effectively extract antimony from refractory tetrahedrite mineralization, potentially unlocking significant value from silver, copper, zinc, and antimony.
• Successful results could materially alter the company's previous cost/benefit analyses, which previously excluded values for antimony, zinc, and lead, by enabling higher recoveries and payable credits for these critical minerals.

Key Details

• Testing Partner & Technology: Samples sent to Allihies Engineering Inc. (Montana) for testing using their proprietary selective industrial alkaline leaching (ASL) hydrometallurgical technology.
• Precedent: Allihies recently tested Americas Gold and Silver’s concentrate from the Galena mine (Idaho), which has similar tetrahedrite mineralization, achieving up to 99% antimony extraction rates.
• Mineralization Characteristics: The Bayhorse mine’s dominant mineralization is refractory tetrahedrite (silver, copper, antimony, and zinc sulphide). Traditional processing of such refractory minerals often yields lower recovery rates and requires high energy inputs.
• Strategic Value: Silver, antimony, copper, and zinc are recognized as critical/strategic minerals in the U.S.
• Market Pricing Context:
  • Antimony 55% concentrate: $8.24 USD/lb (Shanghai Metals Exchange).
  • Copper: $4.65 USD/lb (Kitco).
  • Zinc: $1.40 USD/lb (Kitco).
  • Silver: >$52 USD/oz (Kitco).
• Impact on Feasibility: The company’s 2018 NI 43-101 inferred resource (292,300 tons at 21.65 oz/t Ag) previously assumed payable recoveries of only 87% for silver and 35% for copper, with no value assigned to antimony, zinc, or lead. Successful leaching could significantly change these economic calculations.
• Previous Metallurgical Data (2020):
  • A 200kg mined sample was processed through a Steinert ore sorter.
  • Resulting 5kg select sample head grade: 985 g/t Ag, 1.16% Cu, 1.87% Zn.
  • Recovery achieved: 86.7% Ag/Cu.
  • Final concentrate grade: 9,700 g/t Ag, 10% Cu, 18% Zn, 12% Antimony.
• Operational Infrastructure: The company utilizes a Steinert ore sorter to reduce waste rock by up to 85% and has a permitted mill in Payette, Idaho, capable of processing up to 60 tons per day.
• Exploration Model: Mineralization at Bayhorse may extend to the adjacent Pegasus porphyry copper prospect, potentially sourced from an underlying shallow pluton.

Notable Quotes

• Graeme O'Neill, CEO: "The newly developed Allihies leach process appears to be a significant improvement on the Sunshine leach process, with significantly better reported recoveries of all the metals content."
• Graeme O'Neill, CEO: "We had established that the Sunshine antimony leach process freed up all the minerals without having to roast the concentrate, a very costly enterprise... if processed in the U.S., that has strict environmental controls."