Unico, Inc. Announces Additional Improvements to the Deer Trail Mill and Processing Facility for Improved Recovery of Gold
Issued Monday August 10,
10:18 am ET
SAN DIEGO, CA--(MARKET WIRE)--Aug.10, 2009--Unico, Incorporated (OTC BB:
UNCO), a natural resource company in the precious metals mining sector,
today announced additional improvements to the mill and processing facility at the Deer Trail Mine in Marysvale, Utah, including work that is
intended to improve the overall gold recovery at the facility.
A new photo gallery showing
the additional improvements
at the mill facility will be
added to the Unico website, www.unicomining.com, in the next
several days.
The results of recent testing of oxide material from the upper Deer Trail
Mine area has shown gold content in amounts double that of the sulfide ore that was used to produce
the first shipment delivered
to Royal Mines And Minerals Corporation, which is under
contract to process precious metals from ore from the Deer Trail Mine. The unprocessed sulfide material had a gold content of
.06 oz/ton, while the oxide
material had a gold content
of .15 oz/ton. Higher grade head
ore material, coupled with improved methods
of processing material currently being implemented at the Deer Trail mill
facility, are expected to provide the opportunity for greater return from mining and processing operations at the Deer Trail Mine
In July 2009, Unico announced
the acquisition of equipment that
was to be added to the flotation circuit of
the Deer Trail mill facility. The purpose of the additions is to expedite filtration of concentrate
at the facility and produce a higher grade precious metals concentrate.
The 30-inch by 12-foot Eimco
Belt Extractor Filter, which will
be used to expedite the filtration of the flotation
concentrate, has been installed,
and minor mechanical adjustments are being made to optimize the filter?s
performance. Test work is
being conducted to determine the best filter media
for different ore types at
the Deer Trail Mine. Plumbing and electrical
connections have been completed for the Falcon concentrator, which will be used
to scavenge coarse gold from the flotation tailings.
Results from metallurgical testing of the oxide material screened from the upper Deer Trail
Mine dumps has led the company
to conduct a larger bulk flotation test in the Deer Trail mill
facility. Several
tons of the screened material
from the upper Deer Trail Mine was loaded into
the ore silos and was then run through the mill over a 7-hour period. Reagents that were determined
by bench scale testing to have acceptable levels
of recovery for silver and
gold were metered in to the
mill slurry stream. The bulk oxide flotation test showed encouraging recoveries for gold and silver.
Additional production using
this material is currently underway.
With the installation of the Falcon concentrator currently being completed and scheduled to be commissioned in the next few days, the company believes it can
further improve the overall gold recovery at the Deer Trail
mill.
In recent months, Unico, Inc. has been pursuing
alternative processing methods
for the extraction of silver and gold from concentrate at the Deer Trail
Mine. The purpose of this
initiative is to develop
the most economical process and achieve the highest recovery of precious metals possible from material produced
at the site.
In furtherance of this strategy, Unico, Inc. has developed a relationship with Royal Mines And Minerals
Corporation, which has developed
certain proprietary technologies for the recovery of precious metals from concentrate.
Unico, Inc. has shipped several samples of material, including large bulk samples of flotation concentrate produced at the Deer Trail mill
facility, to Royal Mines? processing
facility in Phoenix, Arizona, where
Royal Mines? proprietary technology
for the lixiviation of precious metals
were tested on the Deer Trail samples.
Due to positive results from
the sample testing, Unico and Royal Mines recently entered into an initial agreement
under which Royal Mines will process ore from the Deer Trail
Mine at its Phoenix,
Arizona facility. Since
its association with Unico, Inc. was initiated, Royal Mines has received
a total of over 23 tons of material from the Deer Trail
Mine.
?Processing higher grade material and improving the rates
of gold recovery at the mill and processing facility are important elements
of our project at the Deer Trail
Mine,? said Mark A. Lopez, chief
executive officer of Unico, Inc. ?With
our ore processing
agreement with Royal Mines And Minerals
Corporation now in place, we
will continue to pursue
more efficient production of precious metals at the Deer
Trail site, including
efforts to increase the rates of production as well as producing a higher grade of precious metals concentrate.?
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About Unico, Inc.
Unico, Inc. (OTC BB: UNCO) is
a publicly traded natural resource company in the precious metals mining sector
that is focused
on the exploration, development and production of
gold, silver, lead, zinc,
and copper concentrates at its two
mine properties: the Deer Trail Mine and the Silver Bell
Mine. The company has also
announced agreements to acquire over 70 additional mining claims including the Clyde
and Crown Point mining claims. In August 2007, Unico announced that its wholly
owned Deer Trail Mining Company
subsidiary had completed the purchase of the Deer Trail Mine from Crown Mines, LLC. For more information, please visit
www.unicomining.com.
Forward-Looking Statements: This news release may
contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A
of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended
and such Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to vary materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. The company may experience significant fluctuations in operating results
due to a number of economic,
competitive and other factors. These factors could cause operation results to vary significantly from those in prior
periods, and those projected in forward-looking statements. Information with respect to these factors, which could materially affect the company and its operations, are included on
certain forms the company
files with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Contact:
Gemini Financial Communications, Inc.
Investor Relations
951-677-8073
investors@unicomining.com