Benz Mining hits strong gold recoveries in Western Australia

Thu June 18 2026

Benz Mining has confirmed strong initial metallurgical results from the Icon camp at its Glenburgh gold project in Western Australia, with testwork showing the deposit is free milling and capable of delivering high gold recoveries.

The company reported approximately 95.5 per cent gold extraction within 24 hours from composite samples representative of the higher-grade core of Icon, alongside rapid leach kinetics and low cyanide and lime consumption.

Benz said the results confirm excellent conventional leach performance across the Icon grade range tested, from higher-grade core material through to the broader mineralised halo, including material grading down to about 0.10 grams per tonne (g/t) gold.

Chief executive officer Mark Lynch-Staunton said the results were encouraging for Glenburgh’s future development potential.

“These are exactly the kind of metallurgical results we want to see from a large, open-pittable gold system,” Lynch-Staunton said.

The preliminary Icon cyanidation program was designed to assess the recovery response of different material categories across the system, including higher-grade core material, mid-grade mineralisation and the broader mineralised halo.

Samples were ground to a nominal P80 of 75 micrometres and tested using a conventional gravity-concentration and cyanide-leach flowsheet. Gold extraction was measured at two, four, eight, 24 and 48 hours to assess leach kinetics and final extraction performance.

Benz said gold extraction was generally complete within eight to 24 hours, with 24-hour extraction results broadly comparable to 48-hour results. Average cyanide consumption ranged from 0.18–0.22 kilograms per tonne of sodium cyanide.

Mid-grade Icon mineralisation returned average gold extraction of around 91 per cent, while the broader mineralised halo returned an average of about 89 per cent. Some halo material grading between 0.1–0.3g/t gold returned extraction up to 93.3 per cent.

“The notably consistent extraction response across the tested grade range is an important differentiator for Glenburgh,” Lynch-Staunton said.

“Material grading down to approximately 0.10 g/t Au leached strongly to very low final residues, highlighting an exciting incremental recoverable gold opportunity around the higher-grade zones.”

Benz said the low-grade halo could represent operational upside in future open-pit studies, with the potential for material that would otherwise be considered waste to become mill feed.

“In a future open-pit scenario, material inside the pit shell has to be mined,” Lynch-Staunton said.

“The question is whether that material is waste, dilution or recoverable gold. These initial results show that the broader Icon mineralised halo has the potential to contribute recoverable gold, supporting favourable future open-pit mining metrics at Glenburgh.

“This is still early-stage metallurgical work, but it strongly supports our view that Icon is a clean-leaching gold system with the scale, geometry and metallurgical characteristics required to become a major part of the Glenburgh growth story.”

Benz will now undertake further metallurgical work, including repeat cyanidation testwork, additional testing across the Icon halo and higher-grade core, grind sensitivity assessments, gravity recovery evaluation and integration with geological modelling and future open-pit studies.

The company is also ramping up drilling across the Glenburgh gold system to 12 operational reverse circulation drill shifts across the Hurricane, Icon and Thunderbolt camps, while a diamond drill rig has mobilised to support metallurgical, geotechnical and orebody knowledge programs.

Source: https://www.australianmining.com.au/