Argenta Silver Reports Up to 96% Silver Recovery and 14,857 g/t Ag Concentrate from Initial Cleaner Flotation Tests at El Quevar
Original announcement by cnw on
- Company
- Argenta Silver Corp.
- Ticker
- AGAG
- Exchange
- Unavailable
- Region
- Salta Province, Argentina
- Primary commodity
- Silver
- Secondary commodities
- Gold, Lead, Zinc, Copper
- Document categories
- Metallurgy
- Extracted
- 2026-09-21 11:48:48 UTC
Analysis by Minestarters Atlas
Minestarters Atlas analysis
Summary
Argenta Silver reported successful initial flotation testwork at the El Quevar project in Argentina, achieving silver recoveries of up to 96% and high-grade silver concentrates of 14,857 g/t Ag. The tests used a conventional rougher-cleaner flotation flowsheet on representative variability samples from the Yaxtché deposit.
Reasoning: The announcement reports highly successful initial metallurgical testwork showing exceptional silver concentrate grades and high recoveries, providing significant de-risking for the Yaxtché deposit's processing potential.
Positive factors
- High silver recoveries in rougher flotation (up to 99%)
- Very high grade silver concentrate (14,857 g/t Ag)
- Successful cleaner flotation stages demonstrated
- Standard industrial flowsheet compatibility
Negative factors
- Early-stage, preliminary results
- Optimization and locked-cycle testing not yet completed
- Final concentrate mineralogy and deleterious elements not yet fully assessed
Facts used in scoring: 17
Classification and evidence
High Recoverypositive
Recovery at or above the exceptional band for the commodity and processing route.
Why it applies: Silver recoveries reached up to 99% in rougher flotation and 96% in cleaner flotation.
Evidence · text
“achieving up to 96% Ag recovery to a final concentrate grading 14,857 g/t Ag”
Mill Routeneutral
Processing via mill or concentrator (CIL, CIP, tank leach, flotation).
Why it applies: The results are based on a conventional rougher-cleaner flotation flowsheet.
Evidence · text
“conventional rougher-cleaner flotation flowsheet”
Bench Scale Onlynegative
Only preliminary bench tests completed — no locked-cycle or pilot work.
Why it applies: The results are described as initial, preliminary, and early-stage testwork.
Evidence · text
“The reported results represent an early stage of the metallurgical testwork program and are preliminary, not final, and have not yet been optimized.”
Multi-Domain Testedpositive
Variability across ore domains (oxide, transition, fresh) has been addressed.
Why it applies: 15 distinct composites were tested
Extracted facts
Stored fact records: 17. Some facts used in scoring do not have a stored record.
Metallurgical Results (17)
flotationEl Quevar · silverRecovery: 96 %View all detailsHide details
Identity
- Project
- El Quevar
- Commodity
- silver
- Region
- argentina
- Reported Region
- Salta Province, Argentina
- Ticker
- AGAG
Test Work
- Program Status
- preliminary
- Test Type
- flotation
- Processing Route
- conventional rougher-cleaner flotation
- Sample
- EQ-VAR-06 (Test F-16)
Recovery
- Recovery
- 96 %
- Conc. Grade
- 14857
- Conc. Grade Unit
- g/t Ag
Lab
- Laboratory
- Blue Coast Research
Review
- Needs Review
- No
- Historical
- No
Dates
- Event date
- 2026-09-21T00:00:00.000Z
Reasoning: High-grade concentrate and high recovery in a cleaner stage is a very strong metallurgical signal.
Positive factors
- Exceptional concentrate grade
- High recovery
Evidence · text
“F-16 (sample EQ-VAR-06) achieved 96.0% Ag recovery to a 3rd cleaner concentrate grading 14,857 g/t Ag”
Tags used in scoring
Mill Routeneutral
Processing via mill or concentrator (CIL, CIP, tank leach, flotation).
Why it applies: processing_route matches the flotation signal
High Recoverypositive
Recovery at or above the exceptional band for the commodity and processing route.
Why it applies: 96% is at or above the exceptional band (90%)
flotationEl Quevar · silverRecovery: 90.7 %View all detailsHide details
Identity
- Project
- El Quevar
- Commodity
- silver
- Region
- argentina
- Reported Region
- Salta Province, Argentina
- Ticker
- AGAG
Test Work
- Program Status
- preliminary
- Test Type
- flotation
- Processing Route
- conventional rougher-cleaner flotation
- Sample
- EQ-VAR-15 (Test F-17)
Recovery
- Recovery
- 90.7 %
- Conc. Grade
- 3364
- Conc. Grade Unit
- g/t Ag
Lab
- Laboratory
- Blue Coast Research
Review
- Needs Review
- No
- Historical
- No
Dates
- Event date
- 2026-09-21T00:00:00.000Z
Reasoning: Provides a useful contrast in mass-pull response, showing consistent recovery even with higher mass pull.
Positive factors
- Solid recovery
Negative factors
- Lower grade than EQ-VAR-06
Evidence · text
“EQ-VAR-15 (Test F-17): ... The 3rd cleaner concentrate graded 3,364 g/t Ag at 90.7% Ag recovery”
Tags used in scoring
Mill Routeneutral
Processing via mill or concentrator (CIL, CIP, tank leach, flotation).
Why it applies: processing_route matches the flotation signal
High Recoverypositive
Recovery at or above the exceptional band for the commodity and processing route.
Why it applies: 90.7% is at or above the exceptional band (90%)
flotationEl Quevar · silverRecovery: 99 %View all detailsHide details
Identity
- Project
- El Quevar
- Commodity
- silver
- Region
- argentina
- Reported Region
- Salta Province, Argentina
- Ticker
- AGAG
Test Work
- Program Status
- preliminary
- Test Type
- flotation
- Processing Route
- flotation
- Sample
- EQ-VAR-01
Recovery
- Recovery
- 99 %
- Recovery Basis
- unspecified
Lab
- Laboratory
- Blue Coast Research
Review
- Needs Review
- No
- Historical
- No
Dates
- Event date
- 2026-09-21T00:00:00.000Z
Reasoning: Excellent rougher recovery result.
Positive factors
- Near-perfect recovery
Evidence · table
“99”
Context: 27.10
Tags used in scoring
Mill Routeneutral
Processing via mill or concentrator (CIL, CIP, tank leach, flotation).
Why it applies: processing_route matches the flotation signal
High Recoverypositive
Recovery at or above the exceptional band for the commodity and processing route.
Why it applies: 99% is at or above the exceptional band (90%)
flotationEl Quevar · silverRecovery: 87 %View all detailsHide details
Identity
- Project
- El Quevar
- Commodity
- silver
- Region
- argentina
- Reported Region
- Salta Province, Argentina
- Ticker
- AGAG
Test Work
- Program Status
- preliminary
- Test Type
- flotation
- Processing Route
- flotation
- Sample
- EQ-VAR-02
Recovery
- Recovery
- 87 %
- Recovery Basis
- unspecified
Lab
- Laboratory
- Blue Coast Research
Review
- Needs Review
- No
- Historical
- No
Dates
- Event date
- 2026-09-21T00:00:00.000Z
Reasoning: Recovery is on the lower end of the reported variability set.
Negative factors
- Lower recovery compared to average
Evidence · table
“87”
Context: 9.90
Tags used in scoring
Mill Routeneutral
Processing via mill or concentrator (CIL, CIP, tank leach, flotation).
Why it applies: processing_route matches the flotation signal
flotationEl Quevar · silverRecovery: 75 %View all detailsHide details
Identity
- Project
- El Quevar
- Commodity
- silver
- Region
- argentina
- Reported Region
- Salta Province, Argentina
- Ticker
- AGAG
Test Work
- Program Status
- preliminary
- Test Type
- flotation
- Processing Route
- flotation
- Sample
- EQ-VAR-03
Recovery
- Recovery
- 75 %
- Recovery Basis
- unspecified
Lab
- Laboratory
- Blue Coast Research
Review
- Needs Review
- No
- Historical
- No
Dates
- Event date
- 2026-09-21T00:00:00.000Z
Reasoning: Significant outlier on the low side for recovery.
Negative factors
- Low recovery
Evidence · table
“75”
Context: 6.60
Tags used in scoring
Mill Routeneutral
Processing via mill or concentrator (CIL, CIP, tank leach, flotation).
Why it applies: processing_route matches the flotation signal
flotationEl Quevar · silverRecovery: 89 %View all detailsHide details
Identity
- Project
- El Quevar
- Commodity
- silver
- Region
- argentina
- Reported Region
- Salta Province, Argentina
- Ticker
- AGAG
Test Work
- Program Status
- preliminary
- Test Type
- flotation
- Processing Route
- flotation
- Sample
- EQ-VAR-04
Recovery
- Recovery
- 89 %
- Recovery Basis
- unspecified
Lab
- Laboratory
- Blue Coast Research
Review
- Needs Review
- No
- Historical
- No
Dates
- Event date
- 2026-09-21T00:00:00.000Z
Reasoning: Standard recovery result.
Evidence · table
“89”
Context: 9.00
Tags used in scoring
Mill Routeneutral
Processing via mill or concentrator (CIL, CIP, tank leach, flotation).
Why it applies: processing_route matches the flotation signal
flotationEl Quevar · silverRecovery: 91 %View all detailsHide details
Identity
- Project
- El Quevar
- Commodity
- silver
- Region
- argentina
- Reported Region
- Salta Province, Argentina
- Ticker
- AGAG
Test Work
- Program Status
- preliminary
- Test Type
- flotation
- Processing Route
- flotation
- Sample
- EQ-VAR-05
Recovery
- Recovery
- 91 %
- Recovery Basis
- unspecified
Lab
- Laboratory
- Blue Coast Research
Review
- Needs Review
- No
- Historical
- No
Dates
- Event date
- 2026-09-21T00:00:00.000Z
Reasoning: Solid recovery result.
Evidence · table
“91”
Context: 5.10
Tags used in scoring
Mill Routeneutral
Processing via mill or concentrator (CIL, CIP, tank leach, flotation).
Why it applies: processing_route matches the flotation signal
High Recoverypositive
Recovery at or above the exceptional band for the commodity and processing route.
Why it applies: 91% is at or above the exceptional band (90%)
flotationEl Quevar · silverRecovery: 97 %View all detailsHide details
Identity
- Project
- El Quevar
- Commodity
- silver
- Region
- argentina
- Reported Region
- Salta Province, Argentina
- Ticker
- AGAG
Test Work
- Program Status
- preliminary
- Test Type
- flotation
- Processing Route
- flotation
- Sample
- EQ-VAR-06
Recovery
- Recovery
- 97 %
- Recovery Basis
- unspecified
Lab
- Laboratory
- Blue Coast Research
Review
- Needs Review
- No
- Historical
- No
Dates
- Event date
- 2026-09-21T00:00:00.000Z
Reasoning: Strong rougher recovery result.
Positive factors
- High recovery
Evidence · table
“97”
Context: 6.60
Tags used in scoring
Mill Routeneutral
Processing via mill or concentrator (CIL, CIP, tank leach, flotation).
Why it applies: processing_route matches the flotation signal
High Recoverypositive
Recovery at or above the exceptional band for the commodity and processing route.
Why it applies: 97% is at or above the exceptional band (90%)
flotationEl Quevar · silverRecovery: 97 %View all detailsHide details
Identity
- Project
- El Quevar
- Commodity
- silver
- Region
- argentina
- Reported Region
- Salta Province, Argentina
- Ticker
- AGAG
Test Work
- Program Status
- preliminary
- Test Type
- flotation
- Processing Route
- flotation
- Sample
- EQ-VAR-07
Recovery
- Recovery
- 97 %
- Recovery Basis
- unspecified
Lab
- Laboratory
- Blue Coast Research
Review
- Needs Review
- No
- Historical
- No
Dates
- Event date
- 2026-09-21T00:00:00.000Z
Reasoning: Strong rougher recovery result.
Positive factors
- High recovery
Evidence · table
“97”
Context: 17.50
Tags used in scoring
Mill Routeneutral
Processing via mill or concentrator (CIL, CIP, tank leach, flotation).
Why it applies: processing_route matches the flotation signal
High Recoverypositive
Recovery at or above the exceptional band for the commodity and processing route.
Why it applies: 97% is at or above the exceptional band (90%)
flotationEl Quevar · silverRecovery: 98 %View all detailsHide details
Identity
- Project
- El Quevar
- Commodity
- silver
- Region
- argentina
- Reported Region
- Salta Province, Argentina
- Ticker
- AGAG
Test Work
- Program Status
- preliminary
- Test Type
- flotation
- Processing Route
- flotation
- Sample
- EQ-VAR-08
Recovery
- Recovery
- 98 %
- Recovery Basis
- unspecified
Lab
- Laboratory
- Blue Coast Research
Review
- Needs Review
- No
- Historical
- No
Dates
- Event date
- 2026-09-21T00:00:00.000Z
Reasoning: Excellent rougher recovery result.
Positive factors
- Very high recovery
Evidence · table
“98”
Context: 12.00
Tags used in scoring
Mill Routeneutral
Processing via mill or concentrator (CIL, CIP, tank leach, flotation).
Why it applies: processing_route matches the flotation signal
High Recoverypositive
Recovery at or above the exceptional band for the commodity and processing route.
Why it applies: 98% is at or above the exceptional band (90%)
flotationEl Quevar · silverRecovery: 99 %View all detailsHide details
Identity
- Project
- El Quevar
- Commodity
- silver
- Region
- argentina
- Reported Region
- Salta Province, Argentina
- Ticker
- AGAG
Test Work
- Program Status
- preliminary
- Test Type
- flotation
- Processing Route
- flotation
- Sample
- EQ-VAR-09
Recovery
- Recovery
- 99 %
- Recovery Basis
- unspecified
Lab
- Laboratory
- Blue Coast Research
Review
- Needs Review
- No
- Historical
- No
Dates
- Event date
- 2026-09-21T00:00:00.000Z
Reasoning: Excellent rougher recovery result.
Positive factors
- Very high recovery
Evidence · table
“99”
Context: 16.90
Tags used in scoring
Mill Routeneutral
Processing via mill or concentrator (CIL, CIP, tank leach, flotation).
Why it applies: processing_route matches the flotation signal
High Recoverypositive
Recovery at or above the exceptional band for the commodity and processing route.
Why it applies: 99% is at or above the exceptional band (90%)
flotationEl Quevar · silverRecovery: 98 %View all detailsHide details
Identity
- Project
- El Quevar
- Commodity
- silver
- Region
- argentina
- Reported Region
- Salta Province, Argentina
- Ticker
- AGAG
Test Work
- Program Status
- preliminary
- Test Type
- flotation
- Processing Route
- flotation
- Sample
- EQ-VAR-10
Recovery
- Recovery
- 98 %
- Recovery Basis
- unspecified
Lab
- Laboratory
- Blue Coast Research
Review
- Needs Review
- No
- Historical
- No
Dates
- Event date
- 2026-09-21T00:00:00.000Z
Reasoning: Excellent rougher recovery result.
Positive factors
- Very high recovery
Evidence · table
“98”
Context: 11.50
Tags used in scoring
Mill Routeneutral
Processing via mill or concentrator (CIL, CIP, tank leach, flotation).
Why it applies: processing_route matches the flotation signal
High Recoverypositive
Recovery at or above the exceptional band for the commodity and processing route.
Why it applies: 98% is at or above the exceptional band (90%)
flotationEl Quevar · silverRecovery: 92 %View all detailsHide details
Identity
- Project
- El Quevar
- Commodity
- silver
- Region
- argentina
- Reported Region
- Salta Province, Argentina
- Ticker
- AGAG
Test Work
- Program Status
- preliminary
- Test Type
- flotation
- Processing Route
- flotation
- Sample
- EQ-VAR-11
Recovery
- Recovery
- 92 %
- Recovery Basis
- unspecified
Lab
- Laboratory
- Blue Coast Research
Review
- Needs Review
- No
- Historical
- No
Dates
- Event date
- 2026-09-21T00:00:00.000Z
Reasoning: Solid recovery result.
Evidence · table
“92”
Context: 11.70
Tags used in scoring
Mill Routeneutral
Processing via mill or concentrator (CIL, CIP, tank leach, flotation).
Why it applies: processing_route matches the flotation signal
High Recoverypositive
Recovery at or above the exceptional band for the commodity and processing route.
Why it applies: 92% is at or above the exceptional band (90%)
flotationEl Quevar · silverRecovery: 55 %View all detailsHide details
Identity
- Project
- El Quevar
- Commodity
- silver
- Region
- argentina
- Reported Region
- Salta Province, Argentina
- Ticker
- AGAG
Test Work
- Program Status
- preliminary
- Test Type
- flotation
- Processing Route
- flotation
- Sample
- EQ-VAR-12
Recovery
- Recovery
- 55 %
- Recovery Basis
- unspecified
Lab
- Laboratory
- Blue Coast Research
Review
- Needs Review
- No
- Historical
- No
Dates
- Event date
- 2026-09-21T00:00:00.000Z
Reasoning: Significant outlier on the low side for recovery, indicating potential mineralogical complexity in this sample.
Negative factors
- Low recovery
Evidence · table
“55”
Context: 4.70
Tags used in scoring
Mill Routeneutral
Processing via mill or concentrator (CIL, CIP, tank leach, flotation).
Why it applies: processing_route matches the flotation signal
Low Recoverynegative
Recovery below the weak band for the commodity and processing route.
Why it applies: 55% is below the weak band (75%)
flotationEl Quevar · silverRecovery: 98 %View all detailsHide details
Identity
- Project
- El Quevar
- Commodity
- silver
- Region
- argentina
- Reported Region
- Salta Province, Argentina
- Ticker
- AGAG
Test Work
- Program Status
- preliminary
- Test Type
- flotation
- Processing Route
- flotation
- Sample
- EQ-VAR-13
Recovery
- Recovery
- 98 %
- Recovery Basis
- unspecified
Lab
- Laboratory
- Blue Coast Research
Review
- Needs Review
- No
- Historical
- No
Dates
- Event date
- 2026-09-21T00:00:00.000Z
Reasoning: Excellent rougher recovery result.
Positive factors
- Very high recovery
Evidence · table
“98”
Context: 10.90
Tags used in scoring
Mill Routeneutral
Processing via mill or concentrator (CIL, CIP, tank leach, flotation).
Why it applies: processing_route matches the flotation signal
High Recoverypositive
Recovery at or above the exceptional band for the commodity and processing route.
Why it applies: 98% is at or above the exceptional band (90%)
flotationEl Quevar · silverRecovery: 96 %View all detailsHide details
Identity
- Project
- El Quevar
- Commodity
- silver
- Region
- argentina
- Reported Region
- Salta Province, Argentina
- Ticker
- AGAG
Test Work
- Program Status
- preliminary
- Test Type
- flotation
- Processing Route
- flotation
- Sample
- EQ-VAR-14
Recovery
- Recovery
- 96 %
- Recovery Basis
- unspecified
Lab
- Laboratory
- Blue Coast Research
Review
- Needs Review
- No
- Historical
- No
Dates
- Event date
- 2026-09-21T00:00:00.000Z
Reasoning: Strong recovery result.
Positive factors
- High recovery
Evidence · table
“96”
Context: 22.40
Tags used in scoring
Mill Routeneutral
Processing via mill or concentrator (CIL, CIP, tank leach, flotation).
Why it applies: processing_route matches the flotation signal
High Recoverypositive
Recovery at or above the exceptional band for the commodity and processing route.
Why it applies: 96% is at or above the exceptional band (90%)
flotationEl Quevar · silverRecovery: 97 %View all detailsHide details
Identity
- Project
- El Quevar
- Commodity
- silver
- Region
- argentina
- Reported Region
- Salta Province, Argentina
- Ticker
- AGAG
Test Work
- Program Status
- preliminary
- Test Type
- flotation
- Processing Route
- flotation
- Sample
- EQ-VAR-15
Recovery
- Recovery
- 97 %
- Recovery Basis
- unspecified
Lab
- Laboratory
- Blue Coast Research
Review
- Needs Review
- No
- Historical
- No
Dates
- Event date
- 2026-09-21T00:00:00.000Z
Reasoning: Strong rougher recovery result.
Positive factors
- High recovery
Evidence · table
“97”
Context: 23.50
Tags used in scoring
Mill Routeneutral
Processing via mill or concentrator (CIL, CIP, tank leach, flotation).
Why it applies: processing_route matches the flotation signal
High Recoverypositive
Recovery at or above the exceptional band for the commodity and processing route.
Why it applies: 97% is at or above the exceptional band (90%)
How Atlas produces this analysis
Minestarters Atlas uses automated extraction to summarize mining announcements, identify reported measurements, and classify supporting evidence. Sentiment reflects the extracted narrative and classification rules; it is an interpretation, not a reported measurement. Evidence quotes and context are provided where available. Missing data, low-confidence results, and review flags indicate limitations. Check the original publisher announcement before relying on an interpretation.