ITRONICS REPORTS PRESENCE OF POTENTIALLY RECOVERABLE IRON,
COPPER, SILVER, COBALT, OTHER STRATEGIC AND BATTERY METALS, AND
NUTRIENT MATERIALS, IN MINE TAILINGS
RENO, NV
-- April 29, 2021 -- InvestorsHub NewsWire -- Itronics Inc.
(OTC:ITRO)
an emerging
"Cleantech Materials" growth Company that manufactures GOLD'n GRO
Multi-Nutrient Fertilizers and produces silver, zinc, and critical
and battery minerals recovered from industrial and mining
waste, today reported it has received a
complete set of polymetallic assays on two tailings samples that
were chosen to provide quantitative metal content information for
two locations in the tailings pile on the mining claims at the
Auric Fulstone project site in the Yerington Copper District near
Yerington, Nevada.
The samples were
chosen to provide quantitative measurements of the metal and
mineral content of the material at the two locations
in order to
determine whether
there would be enough potentially economic metal and mineral
content to qualify the material for use in Rock Kleen process
testing. The results are very positive and show the presence
of a high percentage of iron and smaller amounts of silver, copper,
cobalt, and manganese (battery minerals)
and magnesium and potassium (critical minerals). The samples
also contain gold and trace amounts of rare earth elements,
lithium, and other rare metals.
"These tailings
samples provide the opportunity to measure the recoverability of
each of the contained metals and minerals by performing detailed
recoverability studies at the Itronics Metallurgical R & D
facility at its manufacturing plant located in Reno, Nevada", said
Dr. John Whitney, Itronics President. "This will be our first
opportunity to evaluate the recoverability of such a wide range of
metals from one set of samples and will give us a much better
understanding of the potential scope of capabilities of the Rock
Kleen Technology. If, as we believe, some
of the contained metals and minerals can be recovered, that will
justify launching a larger scale program to do detailed sampling
and volume measurements of the tailings pile at the Auric Fulstone
site to provide standardized feed material for the pilot plant and
demonstration plant that is being planned."
An important
purpose of this work is to establish a tailings supply to support
an operational testing and production facility to demonstrate the
technology. Successful results from testing
the tailings on the Auric claims will mean that the
Itronics Rock Kleen demonstration plant can proceed with zero
dependance on another mining company for feed to the
plant.
Ultimately a
portion of the facility would be configured to provide testing
capabilities where potential customers for the technology would
have the opportunity to have their tailings materials tested
using the
Rock Kleen Technology. The scale would be large
enough
to test Rock Kleen
suitability for use at potential customer tailings
locations.
The Auric Fulstone
tailings materials contain a significant amount of the iron in
magnetite, which is a high-grade iron ore, but which also has a
variety of other commercial uses. Based on preliminary laboratory
evaluation, the company believes that the magnetite will be
relatively straight forward to recover and to classify into
commercial products for sale. A portion of the iron may be
chemically recoverable for use in the company's GOLD'n GRO chelated
liquid fertilizers. Based on prior testing of other mine
tailings, the company believes that a portion of the calcium,
magnesium, manganese, potassium, and sulfur in the tailings
may be recoverable
for use in the GOLD'n GRO fertilizers. The company
anticipates that a portion of the copper and cobalt may be
recoverable for separate sale. Rare earth elements, and other
rare metals, including lithium, may be partially recoverable.
"The proposed testing will be our first opportunity to evaluate the
recoverability of all of these elements in the Rock Kleen chemical
system," said Dr. Whitney.
The Company does
not yet have a budget for measuring the mineralogy of the samples,
so that work will be performed as part of the ongoing testing later
in the year. However, there will be a market for at least
some of the mineral material. Itronics Metallurgical, Inc.
will require fill material and construction materials for
the construction
at the Itronics
Cleantech Materials Campus which would otherwise have to be
purchased from outside parties. The Company believes that it
will be less expensive to purchase some of these materials, after
processing, from Auric Gold & Minerals, thereby providing a
market for them at or near the processing site.
"The Rock Kleen
Technology can play a role in economically and efficiently cleaning
up mine tailings, some of which is in unsightly piles in the states
that have a mining history. Under the Rock Kleen processing
concept, all the rock is processed to
recover its components for commercial use, maximizing
sustainability and eliminating the waste from the environment,"
said Dr. John Whitney. "The proposed Yerington Rock Kleen
Demonstration plant will provide the first opportunity for us
to show potential customers how this
will work."
Itronics, through
its subsidiary Auric Gold & Minerals controls the Auric
Fulstone Project which is adjacent to the former operating
Minnesota Mine, which started as a copper mine but was commercially
operated as an iron mine from the late 1940's through the early
1960's. Some of the tailings and some of the mining waste
generated by the iron mining operation are located on the Auric
Fulstone Project mining claims and are now under the control of
Auric Gold & Minerals.
Itronics Technical
and Administrative
Services
subsidiary, Whitney & Whitney, Inc. will be leading the project
development effort beginning with sampling and measurement of the
tailings, to be followed by planning and engineering,
construction,
and
early-stage
operation.
Itronics Metallurgical will be performing the test work that is
required to advance the process development. The Company
plans to use independent laboratories to perform the required
analyses. This is a procedure the Company has always
followed. In addition, any cyanide testing that may be
required will also be performed by independent qualified
laboratories.
About Itronics
Headquartered in
Reno, Nevada, Itronics Inc. is a "Zero Waste Energy Saving
Technology" Company which produces GOLD'n GRO specialty liquid
fertilizers, silver bullion, and silver-bearing glass. The Company
is an emerging "critical minerals" producer. The Company's
goal is to achieve profitable cleantech materials technology driven
organic growth in specialty GOLD'n GRO fertilizers, silver, zinc,
and critical minerals. The Company's technologies maximize
the recovery and uses of metals and minerals and by doing this
maximize sustainability.
The Company's growth forecast
centers upon its 10-year business plan designed to integrate its
Zero Waste Energy Saving Technologies and to grow annual sales from
$2 million in 2019, to $100 million in 2025.
The Company's
environmentally friendly award winning GOLD'n GRO liquid
fertilizers, which are extensively used in
agriculture, can be used for lawns and
houseplants, and are available at the Company's
"e-store" on
Amazon.Com at http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=bl_sr_lawn-garden?ie+UTF8&field-brandtextbin=GOLD%27n+GRO&node+2972638011.
Due to expanded
retail customer interest, GOLD'n GRO fertilizer may now be
purchased in Reno, Nevada at "Buy Nevada First Gift Shop", 4001 S.
Virginia St.
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on Twitter:https://twitter.com/itronicsinc
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VISIT OUR WEB SITE:
http://www.itronics.com
("Safe Harbor"
Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995: This press release contains or may contain forward-looking
statements such as statements regarding the Company's growth and
profitability, growth strategy, liquidity and access to public
markets, operating expense reduction, and trends in the industry in
which the Company operates. The forward-looking statements
contained in this press release are also subject to other risks and
uncertainties, including those more fully described in the
Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange
Commission. The Company assumes no obligation to update these
forward-looking statements to reflect actual results, changes in
risks, uncertainties or assumptions underlying or affecting such
statements, or for prospective events that may have a retroactive
effect.)
Contact:Paul
Knopick
888.795.6336