RZOLV advances Nome Gold Recovery Plan

North of 60 Mining News - November 2, 2026 - Shane Lasley

Partners with Aurquest to build a non-cyanide pilot plant in North Vancouver that could pave the way for commercial gold recovery in Nome.

Working in partnership with Aurquest Alaska Inc., RZOLV Technologies Inc. plans to begin construction this month on a pilot plant in North Vancouver, British Columbia, to demonstrate a cleaner alternative to cyanide for recovering gold and other valuable metals from Alaska placer mining concentrates.

The pilot facility represents the next step toward establishing a commercial facility in Nome that could recover gold left behind in black sand concentrates produced by placer mines in the region.

These heavy mineral concentrates, comprised largely of minerals such as ilmenite (an iron-titanium oxide), magnetite, garnet, rutile, and monazite, are produced in the gravity recovery circuits employed at most placer gold mining operations. While these circuits are effective at separating gold from lighter materials, significant quantities of fine gold can remain locked up in the black sands.

Historically, mercury and cyanide have been used to extract gold from these concentrates. Though effective, the toxicity of these chemicals presents environmental and safety challenges that can make their use impractical for smaller placer operations.

RZOLV's proprietary water-based leaching solution offers a potential alternative to cyanide for dissolving gold and other metals that can then be recovered using conventional processes such as carbon adsorption, electrowinning, or ion exchange.

From testing to pilot

For more than a year, RZOLV has been working with Aurquest to evaluate the effectiveness of its non-cyanide solution for recovering gold from black sand concentrates and other gravity-processing residues produced at Alaska placer mines.

In tests completed earlier this year by SGS Canada Inc., the RZOLV solution dissolved 98.7% of the gold contained within oxide concentrates from a Nome-area placer mine in 96 hours, compared to 99.9% recovery with a solution containing 2,000 parts per million sodium cyanide.

The independent laboratory also reported 89.4% gold extraction from sulfide concentrates sourced from another Alaska mine, compared to 90.7% using cyanide.

While these results demonstrate the effectiveness of RZOLV's solution for dissolving gold under laboratory conditions, the next step is demonstrating an integrated process that can efficiently recover the dissolved metals and recycle the leaching solution for reuse.

"This facility moves us from testing individual materials to demonstrating an integrated recovery process at pilot scale, including metal recovery and the recycling and reuse of process solutions," said RZOLV President and CEO Duane Nelson.

The North Vancouver plant will integrate RZOLV's leaching technology with EMEW Clean Technologies electrowinning cells that recover dissolved metals from solution.

The pilot program will evaluate gold extraction, processing rates, reagent consumption, overall metal recovery, and the ability to recycle and reuse process solutions. The goal is to demonstrate an integrated processing route from concentrates to a saleable, refinery-ready metal product.

Under its bulk-testing agreement with RZOLV, Aurquest has agreed to fund equipment and hardware costs for the facility and has already delivered 2.15 metric tons of high-grade gold concentrates for the initial testing.

In addition, the National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program has approved up to C$121,000 to support the project.

Nelson says these contributions provide a capital-light pathway toward commercializing RZOLV's metals recovery technology while generating the operating data needed to evaluate a larger facility in Alaska."Partner funding and non-dilutive government support allow us to advance our capital-light strategy while generating the operating data needed to evaluate commercial applications and guide the design of a proposed larger facility in Nome, Alaska," he said.

RZOLV expects the North Vancouver pilot plant to be commissioned during the first quarter of 2027.