NorthWest Reports Significant Improved Recoveries for Gold at Kwanika Ranging from 94.6%-96.3%
Original announcement by tmx on
- Company
- NorthWest Copper Corp.
- Ticker
- NWST
- Exchange
- TSX
- Region
- British Columbia
- Primary commodity
- Copper
- Secondary commodities
- Gold, Silver, Palladium
- Document categories
- Metallurgy
- Extracted
- 2026-09-16 15:04:54 UTC
Analysis by Minestarters Atlas
Minestarters Atlas analysis
Summary
NorthWest Copper Corp. reported successful 2025 metallurgical test results at the Kwanika project, demonstrating that a refined flowsheet including flotation and tails leaching significantly improves recoveries. Total gold recoveries reached 94.6%-96.3% and silver reached 96.3%, representing material improvements over previous test work.
Reasoning: The metallurgical program successfully demonstrated material improvements in overall gold (34%) and silver (37%) recoveries by adding a leaching stage to flotation tails, significantly enhancing the project's economic potential.
Positive factors
- Significant improvement in gold and silver recoveries via optimized flowsheet
- Demonstrated ability to recover precious metals from flotation tails
- High concentrate grades for copper, gold, silver, and palladium
- Use of conventional processing methods (ball milling, flotation, leaching)
Facts used in scoring: 6
Classification and evidence
High Recoverypositive
Recovery at or above the exceptional band for the commodity and processing route.
Why it applies: Gold total recovery of 94.6%-96.3% is in the exceptional band for a mill route.
Evidence · text
“Gold recoveries ranging from ~94.6% to 96.3%”
Mill Routeneutral
Processing via mill or concentrator (CIL, CIP, tank leach, flotation).
Why it applies: The process involves ball mill grinding, flotation, and leaching.
Evidence · text
“conventional processing methods, including ball mill grinding, flotation and tails leaching”
QA/QC Disclosedpositive · Story-specific tag
Release includes QA/QC disclosure — certified lab, QP sign-off, or stated methods (blanks, standards, duplicates).
Why it applies: Technical aspects reviewed and approved by Qualified Persons (Geoff Chinn, P.Geo and Stacy Freudigmann, P.Eng).
Evidence · text
“Technical aspects of this news release have been reviewed, verified, and approved by Geoff Chinn, P.Geo... and Stacy Freudigmann P.Eng.”
Multi-Domain Testedpositive
Variability across ore domains (oxide, transition, fresh) has been addressed.
Why it applies: 3 distinct composites were tested
Extracted facts
Stored fact records: 6. Some facts used in scoring do not have a stored record.
Metallurgical Results (6)
flotationKwanika · copperRecovery: 88.2 %Head Grade: 0.895Head Grade Unit: %View all detailsHide details
Identity
- Project
- Kwanika
- Commodity
- copper
- Region
- canada_bc
- Reported Region
- British Columbia
- Ticker
- NWST
Test Work
- Program Status
- detailed
- Test Type
- flotation
- Processing Route
- flotation
- Sample
- Cu Concentrate
Recovery
- Recovery
- 88.2 %
- Recovery Basis
- actual_test
- Head Grade
- 0.895
- Head Grade Unit
- %
- Conc. Grade
- 26.05
- Conc. Grade Unit
- %
Lab
- Laboratory
- Intertek Base Met Labs
- Consultant
- Canenco Consulting Corp.
Review
- Needs Review
- No
- Historical
- No
Dates
- Event date
- 2026-01-21T00:00:00.000Z
Reasoning: Standard flotation recovery for copper concentrate.
Evidence · table
“88.1-88.4”
Context: 28.1 - 24.0
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
flotationKwanika · goldRecovery: 74.65 %Head Grade: 1.75Head Grade Unit: g/tView all detailsHide details
Identity
- Project
- Kwanika
- Commodity
- gold
- Region
- canada_bc
- Reported Region
- British Columbia
- Ticker
- NWST
Test Work
- Program Status
- detailed
- Test Type
- flotation
- Processing Route
- flotation
- Sample
- Cu Concentrate
Recovery
- Recovery
- 74.65 %
- Recovery Basis
- actual_test
- Head Grade
- 1.75
- Head Grade Unit
- g/t
- Conc. Grade
- 42.6
- Conc. Grade Unit
- g/t
Lab
- Laboratory
- Intertek Base Met Labs
- Consultant
- Canenco Consulting Corp.
Review
- Needs Review
- No
- Historical
- No
Dates
- Event date
- 2026-01-21T00:00:00.000Z
Reasoning: Gold recovery in the copper concentrate.
Evidence · table
“74.3-75.0”
Context: 39.8 - 45.4
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: 74.65% is below the weak band (80%)
leachKwanika · goldRecovery: 19.2 %View all detailsHide details
Identity
- Project
- Kwanika
- Commodity
- gold
- Region
- canada_bc
- Reported Region
- British Columbia
- Ticker
- NWST
Test Work
- Program Status
- detailed
- Test Type
- leach
- Sample
- Cleaner + Rougher Tails Leach
Recovery
- Recovery
- 19.2 %
- Recovery Basis
- actual_test
Review
- Needs Review
- No
- Historical
- No
Dates
- Event date
- 2026-01-21T00:00:00.000Z
Reasoning: Incremental leaching recovery from flotation tails.
Positive factors
- Significant incremental recovery from tails
Evidence · table
“19.2”
Context: 96.4 - 97.0
Tags used in scoring
Low Recoverynegative
Recovery below the weak band for the commodity and processing route.
Why it applies: 19.2% is below the weak band (80%)
flotationKwanika · goldRecovery: 95.45 %Head Grade: 1.75Head Grade Unit: g/tView all detailsHide details
Identity
- Project
- Kwanika
- Commodity
- gold
- Region
- canada_bc
- Reported Region
- British Columbia
- Ticker
- NWST
Test Work
- Program Status
- detailed
- Test Type
- flotation
- Processing Route
- flotation
- Sample
- Combined Total (Flotation + Leach)
- Grind P80
- 53 µm
Recovery
- Recovery
- 95.45 %
- Recovery Basis
- actual_test
- Head Grade
- 1.75
- Head Grade Unit
- g/t
Review
- Needs Review
- No
- Historical
- No
Dates
- Event date
- 2026-01-21T00:00:00.000Z
Reasoning: Combined flotation and leaching recovery is excellent.
Positive factors
- High total gold recovery
Evidence · table
“94.6 - 96.3”
Context: 88.9 - 90.2
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: 95.45% is at or above the exceptional band (95%)
flotationKwanika · silverRecovery: 78.3 %Head Grade: 3.3Head Grade Unit: g/tView all detailsHide details
Identity
- Project
- Kwanika
- Commodity
- silver
- Region
- canada_bc
- Reported Region
- British Columbia
- Ticker
- NWST
Test Work
- Program Status
- detailed
- Test Type
- flotation
- Processing Route
- flotation
- Sample
- Cu Concentrate
Recovery
- Recovery
- 78.3 %
- Recovery Basis
- actual_test
- Head Grade
- 3.3
- Head Grade Unit
- g/t
Review
- Needs Review
- No
- Historical
- No
Dates
- Event date
- 2026-01-21T00:00:00.000Z
Reasoning: Silver recovery in copper concentrate.
Evidence · table
“78.3”
Context: 75.9
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
flotationKwanika · silverRecovery: 96.3 %Head Grade: 3.3Head Grade Unit: g/tView all detailsHide details
Identity
- Project
- Kwanika
- Commodity
- silver
- Region
- canada_bc
- Reported Region
- British Columbia
- Ticker
- NWST
Test Work
- Program Status
- detailed
- Test Type
- flotation
- Processing Route
- flotation
- Sample
- Combined Total (Flotation + Leach)
- Grind P80
- 53 µm
Recovery
- Recovery
- 96.3 %
- Recovery Basis
- actual_test
- Head Grade
- 3.3
- Head Grade Unit
- g/t
Review
- Needs Review
- No
- Historical
- No
Dates
- Event date
- 2026-01-21T00:00:00.000Z
Reasoning: Combined flotation and leaching recovery is excellent.
Positive factors
- High total silver recovery
Evidence · table
“96.3”
Context: 88.9 - 90.2
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: 96.3% 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.