ENVIRONMENT: BacTech to investigate arsenopyrite stockpile at former New Britannia mine

MANITOBA - BacTech Mining of Toronto has received permission from the provincial government to conduct a bioleach study on the arsenopyrite concentrate stockpile at the former New Britannia gold mine at Snow Lake. The 300,000-tonne stockpile, owned by the province, may contain 100,000 oz of gold.

The arsenopyrite concentrate was produced by flotation at the mill during the 1950s. The arsenic has over the years become mobilized and is leaching into the local water supplies and soil. The BacTech bioleaching technology can not only recover the precious metals in the concentrate but also neutralize the arsenic.

BacTech will begin tests on drill core samples from a previous study of the stockpile, and initial results are expected in July. At that time, the company may decide to proceed with building a bioleach plant to reprocess the material.

Learn more about BacTech's bioleaching process at www.BacTech.com.

The New Britannia mine is owned by Alexis Minerals which has plans to reopen it and has renamed the project "Snow Lake".