en.Wedoany.com Reported - Alaska Energy Metals (TSX-V:AEMC) has achieved 49.4% nickel recovery from drill core at the Eureka deposit of the Nikolai project in Alaska, USA, through closed-circuit flotation testing.
Tests on Core Eureka Zone 2 material recovered 50.5% copper (Cu) and 21% cobalt (Co) into a bulk flotation concentrate.
Precious metal recoveries reached 49.1% for platinum (Pt), 43.1% for palladium (Pd), and 43.9% for gold (Au).
The resulting concentrate grades were: nickel (Ni) 7.22%, copper (Cu) 4.01%, cobalt (Co) 0.30%, platinum 2.33 g/t, palladium 4.10 g/t, and gold 0.78 g/t. Approximately 506 grams of concentrate were recovered, representing 1.68% of the feed material.
Test feed grades were: nickel 0.26%, copper 0.13%, cobalt 0.03%, palladium 0.16 g/t, platinum 0.08 g/t, and gold 0.03 g/t. The composite sample was prepared from drill core and represents the average grade of the 2025 mineral resource estimate for the Eureka deposit.
CEO Gregory Beischer stated that these recoveries provide important inputs for the company's internal economic evaluation.
Beischer noted that it is now known that metals in the Nikolai deposit can be recovered at appreciable rates.
Alaska Energy said optimization testing also found that desliming is unnecessary, which could remove a processing stage from the proposed flowsheet.
After open-circuit tests showed room for improved recoveries and concentrate grades, further closed-circuit testing is underway, with results expected in early August.
Concentrate samples will also be sent to Lifezone Metals (NYSE:LZM) to assess suitability for hydrometallurgical refining. Alaska Energy said successful on-site refining could increase payable metal quantities and avoid shipping concentrate to an external smelter, though this would require additional capital.
The company plans to complete an internal economic analysis before deciding whether to commission a preliminary economic assessment.
Alaska Energy Metals is focused on developing the multi-metal Nikolai project, which hosts nickel, copper, cobalt, chromium, iron, platinum, palladium, and gold mineralization.
