Stuhini Reports Strong Metallurgical Recoveries from Surface Mini-Bulk Sample at Silver Surprise Zone, Ruby Creek Project
Original announcement by tmx on
- Company
- Stuhini Exploration Ltd.
- Ticker
- STU
- Exchange
- TSX
- Region
- British Columbia
- Primary commodity
- Silver
- Secondary commodities
- Molybdenum
- Document categories
- Metallurgy
- Extracted
- 2026-09-14 15:16:26 UTC
Analysis by Minestarters Atlas
Minestarters Atlas analysis
Summary
Stuhini Exploration has reported highly favourable metallurgical results from a 719 kg surface mini-bulk sample at the Silver Surprise Zone of the Ruby Creek Project. Direct smelting achieved a 95% silver recovery from a 4,200 g/t silver feed, while gravity separation successfully produced a refined silver bar.
Reasoning: The results demonstrate exceptionally high silver recovery (95%) from an ultra-high-grade surface sample using a low-complexity smelting route, significantly de-risking the processing of the Silver Surprise Zone.
Positive factors
- High silver recovery (95%) via simple direct smelting
- Very high head grade (4,200 g/t Ag)
- Simple, low-complexity processing route identified
- Gravity separation successfully produced a refined silver bar
Negative factors
- Test scale is a mini-bulk sample (719 kg), which may not be fully representative of the deposit
Facts used in scoring: 3
Classification and evidence
Free Millingpositive
Simple, clean ore amenable to standard processing without oxidation.
Why it applies: The release notes that the high native silver content and simple mineralogy make it well-suited to low-complexity processing.
Evidence · text
“The high native silver content and simple quartz-hosted mineralogy make the mineralization particularly well-suited to this low-complexity processing route.”
Mill Routeneutral
Processing via mill or concentrator (CIL, CIP, tank leach, flotation).
Why it applies: The sample was processed using a Denver ball mill.
Evidence · text
“The sample was milled in a 3' x 3' Denver ball mill”
Gravity Routeneutral
Gravity separation forms a material part of the flowsheet.
Why it applies: the document describes a gravity route ("gravity")
Single Domain Onlynegative
Testing limited to one composite or domain — representativeness not established.
Why it applies: only one composite was tested
Extracted facts
Stored fact records: 3. Some facts used in scoring do not have a stored record.
Metallurgical Results (3)
direct smeltingRuby Creek Project · silverRecovery: 95 %Head Grade: 4200Head Grade Unit: g/tView all detailsHide details
Identity
- Project
- Ruby Creek Project
- Commodity
- silver
- Region
- canada_bc
- Reported Region
- British Columbia
- Ticker
- STU
Test Work
- Program Status
- preliminary
- Test Type
- direct smelting
- Processing Route
- direct smelting
- Sample
- 719 kg surface mini-bulk sample from Silver Surprise Zone
Recovery
- Recovery
- 95 %
- Recovery Basis
- actual_test
- Head Grade
- 4200
- Head Grade Unit
- g/t
Lab
- Consultant
- Rino Mihoc of Ruby Gold Ltd.
Review
- Needs Review
- No
- Historical
- No
Dates
- Event date
- 2025-12-01T00:00:00.000Z
Reasoning: 95% recovery from ultra-high-grade material via direct smelting is a standout outcome.
Positive factors
- 95% recovery is exceptional for direct smelting
Negative factors
- Small sample size
Evidence · text
“Direct smelting test achieved 95% silver recovery”
Tags used in scoring
High Recoverypositive
Recovery at or above the exceptional band for the commodity and processing route.
Why it applies: 95% is at or above the exceptional band (90%)
gravityRuby Creek Project · silverRecovery: 15 %Head Grade: 4200Head Grade Unit: g/tView all detailsHide details
Identity
- Project
- Ruby Creek Project
- Commodity
- silver
- Region
- canada_bc
- Reported Region
- British Columbia
- Ticker
- STU
Test Work
- Program Status
- preliminary
- Test Type
- gravity
- Processing Route
- gravity separation using a Gemini shaking table
- Sample
- 719 kg surface mini-bulk sample from Silver Surprise Zone (gravity circuit)
Recovery
- Recovery
- 15 %
- Recovery Basis
- actual_test
- Head Grade
- 4200
- Head Grade Unit
- g/t
- Conc. Grade
- 10
- Conc. Grade Unit
- %
Review
- Needs Review
- No
- Historical
- No
Dates
- Event date
- 2025-12-01T00:00:00.000Z
Reasoning: While gravity recovery is low (15%), it successfully concentrated the silver for subsequent smelting and confirmed the presence of free, heavy silver.
Positive factors
- Successfully produced a refined silver bar
- Simple single-pass process
Negative factors
- Low recovery (15%) for the gravity circuit alone
Evidence · text
“Gravity separation using a single pass on a Gemini shaking table recovered 15% of the contained silver”
Tags used in scoring
Gravity Routeneutral
Gravity separation forms a material part of the flowsheet.
Why it applies: processing_route matches the gravity signal
Low Recoverynegative
Recovery below the weak band for the commodity and processing route.
Why it applies: 15% is below the weak band (75%)
Fact 3Ruby Creek Project · silverHead Grade: 4200Head Grade Unit: g/tView all detailsHide details
Identity
- Project
- Ruby Creek Project
- Commodity
- silver
- Region
- canada_bc
- Reported Region
- British Columbia
- Ticker
- STU
Test Work
- Sample
- 719 kg surface mini-bulk sample from Silver Surprise Zone (gravity tailings)
Recovery
- Head Grade
- 4200
- Head Grade Unit
- g/t
- Tailings Grade
- 3540
- Tailings Grade Unit
- g/t
Review
- Needs Review
- No
- Historical
- No
Dates
- Event date
- 2025-12-01T00:00:00.000Z
Reasoning: Tailings grade of 3,540 g/t silver confirms the gravity stage is not efficient for primary recovery, necessitating the smelting route.
Negative factors
- High tailings grade indicates significant silver loss in the gravity stage
Evidence · text
“Tailings after gravity separation assayed 3,540 g/t silver”
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.