Searchlight Minerals Corp. · OTC:SRCH
Searchlight Minerals — Shareholder Meeting (May 2012)
44 slides from Searchlight Minerals's shareholder meeting presentation, May 8, 2012
Slide 1: 2012 Annual Shareholders Meeting
SEARCHLIGHT MINERALS CORPS “Unearthing Possibilities 2012 ANNUAL SHAREHOLDERS MEETING ee
Slide 2: Forward Looking Statements
Forward Looking Statements Searchlight Minerals Corp. May 8, 2012 This presentation may contain, in addition to historical information, forward - looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as
Slide 3: Company Overview
Searchlight Minerals Corp. May 8, 2012 The Clarkdale Slag Project: Company Overview • Domestic focused exploration stage company engaged in the acquisition and exploration of mineral properties and slag reprocessing projects. • Focused on two mineral properties in SW USA: • Clarkdale Gold Project –
Slide 4: Clarkdale Slag Project: reclamation of copper smelter slag
Searchlight Minerals Corp. May 8, 2012 • A unique reclamation project to recover precious and base metals from the reprocessing of slag produced from the smelting of copper ore mined at the United Verde Copper Mine in Jerome, Arizona. • The historic "Billion Dollar Copper Camp" in Jerome delivered h
Slide 5: Location
Searchlight Minerals Corp. May 8, 2012 • The project is located outside the town of Clarkdale, Arizona, which is approx. 100 miles North of Phoenix, and is situated on 800+ acres of industrial zoned land. Clarkdale itself is a modest - sized town of some 8,000 residents, which was originally establi
Slide 6: Site Use & Restoration
Searchlight Minerals Corp. May 8, 2012 The Clarkdale Slag Project: Site Use & Restoration • The project is on the US National Register of historic places and every effort has been made to preserve and utilize existing structures. Before – Locker Room After – Front Office
Slide 7: Site Use & Restoration
Searchlight Minerals Corp. May 8, 2012 • The project is on the US National Register of historic places and every effort has been made to preserve and utilize existing structures. The Clarkdale Slag Project: Site Use & Restoration Before – Warehouse After – Pilot Plant Building
Slide 8: Site Use & Restoration
Searchlight Minerals Corp. May 8, 2012 5 • The project is on the US National Register of historic places and every effort has been made to preserve and utilize existing structures. The Clarkdale Slag Project: Site Use & Restoration Before – Abandoned Steam Plant Future – Offices, Warehouse, Shop
Slide 9: Mineral Estimate
The Clarkdale Slag Project: Mineral Estimate • In 2005, Mountain States R&D International (MSRDI) was retained by SMC to conduct a drilling, sampling and analysis program on the slag deposit under standard "chain of custody" (COC) protocol. • A sequence of 18 sonic holes were drilled under COC on th
Slide 10: Management
• Martin B. Oring – Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Marty has extensive experience as a member of management in several companies, including Prudential Securities, Chase Manhattan Corporation and Mobil Corporation. Marty also served as a member of management and Board of Directors in
Slide 11: Directors
• Jordan M. Estra – Independent Director Jordan is an investment banker and executive with experience working with natural resource companies and as an Audit Committee financial expert. Since May 2009, Jordan has been the Managing Director of Private Equity at Sutter Securities Incorporated, where h
Slide 12: Technical consultants
• Arrakis, Inc./James Murray Jim is our Project Manager for the Clarkdale Metals Project. He has over 38 years of experience in mining and process engineering, project management, mine and process plant design, construction, and operation, as well as hazardous and radioactive waste remediation. His
Slide 13: Two Main Issues Facing the Company
TWO MAIN ISSUES FACING THE COMPANY: 1. Financial stability and cash position 2. Technical issues related to the Clarkdale Slag Project Company Overview Searchlight Minerals Corp. May 8, 2012
Slide 14: Company Overview: Capitalization
Company Overview • The Company is incorporated in Nevada, listed on the OTC Bulletin Board (ticker: SRCH) CAPITALIZATION ( 12/27/10 ) ( 4/30/12) Shares Outstanding 123,018,318 131,018,318 Share Price $0.69 $1.36 Market Cap ( approximately) $85,000,000 178,000,000 Average Daily Volume (3 month) 145,0
Slide 15: Strong Financial Position
Strong Financial Position • As of April 30, 2012, we had cash reserves of approximately $4.0 M • We have enhanced the financial stability and cash position of the Company by: 1. Issuing 11 M shares between December 2010 and December 2011 raising approximately $6.5 M 2. Reducing our burn rate to appr
Slide 16: Bench-Scale Autoclave Tests
• Since the second half of 2010, we have pursued autoclaving in an effort to prove our ability to commercially extract and recover precious and base metals from the slag material at our Clarkdale Slag Project. • Autoclaving, a proven technology that is widely used within the mining industry, is a ch
Slide 17: SGS autoclave test results
• During the third quarter of 2011, we received the results of a progress report from independent engineering firm SGS Lakefield Research Chile, S.A. (“ SGS ”). SGS performed a number of autoclave tests, under various metallurgical conditions, using both pressure oxidation (“POX”) and pressure oxida
Slide 18: Pilot autoclave test results
• Yesterday on May 11 th , we announced the results of a report obtained from tests conducted at the facility of an independent Australian metallurgical Testing firm. Testing was conducted in a four compartment titanium pilot autoclave, with a 25 liter capacity • The testing firm conducted autoclave
Slide 19: Next Steps
The Clarkdale Slag Project: Next Steps Searchlight Minerals Corp. May 8, 2012 • On a near - term basis, we are focused on optimizing the autoclave POL protocols and extracting gold from solution in order to commence the continuous pilot tests in a larger multi - compartment autoclave, that are neces
Slide 20: The Autoclave Process & Current Work
The Clarkdale Slag Project: The Autoclave Process & Current Work Searchlight Minerals Corp. May 8, 2012 • The autoclave process (also known as pressure oxidation, or POX) is a leach process that utilizes elevated temperature and pressure in an autoclave system to dissolve and remove impurities (iron
Slide 21: Resin and carbon gold recovery tests
• Based on hundreds of tests performed by us, Arrakis and other engaged independent consultants, coupled with our recent test work demonstrating the feasibility of processing the Clarkdale Slag in a continuous autoclave, we are proceeding with the recovery of gold from solution, using carbon, ion ex
Slide 22: Conceptual Process Flow Diagram
Conceptual Process Flow Diagram: For 100 ton Pilot Run In 2010 Grinding Leaching Filtration Metals In Solution Resin Extraction Cu Solvent Extraction Gold (Au) Silver (Ag) Electrowin Copper (C u) Zn Solvent Extraction Electrowin Zinc (Zn ) Barren Solids Ferro Silicate By Product Additives Leach Chem
Slide 23: Autoclave Proposed Process Flow Diagram - POX
The Clarkdale Slag Project: Autoclave Proposed Process Flow Diagram - POX Clean Slag Leaching Filtration Metals In Solution Resin Extraction Cu Solvent Extraction Gold (Au) Silver (Ag) Electrowin Copper (Cu) Zn Solvent Extraction Electrowin Zinc (Zn) Barren Solids Ferro Silicate By Product Additives
Slide 24: Autoclave Current Process Flow Diagram - POL
The Clarkdale Slag Project: Autoclave Current Process Flow Diagram - POL Metals In Solution Resin Extraction Gold (Au) Ferro Silicate By Product Additives Resin Columns Filtration Autoclave Leaching H PG R Copper Smelter Slag Crushing & Grinding HPGR Oxygen Searchlight Minerals Corp. May 8, 2012 Aut
Slide 25: Operation of Test Module / Lessons Learned
Searchlight Minerals Corp. May 8, 2012 • The pilot test run in the Clarkdale Test Module both verified process technologies which worked and identified technologies which needed to be modified or replaced. • High Pressure Grinding Rolls appear to be a very robust and efficient replacement for the cr
Slide 26: HPGR micro-fracturing
• HPGR grinding systems impart extremely high compression energy in the space between the rolls followed by immediate release of that compression energy in tension. This results in micro - fracturing of the slag material. • Micro - fractures enhance the ability of the leach solution to access the in
Slide 27: HPGR roll wear and design
• Because HPGR grinding systems impart extremely high compression energy into the very hard and abrasive slag, it is important that the surface of the grinding rolls be able to withstand the wear evidenced by other crushing and grinding systems employed in the Test Module. The surface of each roll i
Slide 28: Alternative leach methods examined
• Due to the aforementioned problems with the 100 ton pilot test, alternatives to the ambient leach used in the pilot test run, were examined. Alternate leach reagents and concentrations as well as separate staged leaches using different reagents were examined. While the lessons learned from these t
Slide 29: Continuous Run Autoclave Tests - Project Manager & Senior Metallurgist
Searchlight Minerals Corp. May 8, 2012 The Clarkdale Slag Project: Continuous Run Autoclave Tests - Project Manager & Senior Metallurgist
Slide 30: Pilot Plant Process Flow Diagram
The Clarkdale Slag Project: Bench - Scale Autoclave Tests (cont.) Searchlight Minerals Corp. May 8, 2012 Pilot Plant Process Flow Diagram
Slide 31: Continuous Run Autoclave Tests - Compartment Autoclave
Searchlight Minerals Corp. May 8, 2011 The Clarkdale Slag Project: Continuous Run Autoclave Tests - 4 Compartment 25 - liter Autoclave
Slide 32: Continuous Run Autoclave Tests - Complete Autoclave System
Searchlight Minerals Corp. May 8, 2011 The Clarkdale Slag Project: Continuous Run Autoclave Tests - Complete Autoclave System
Slide 33: Continuous Run Autoclave Tests - Plate & Frame Filter
Searchlight Minerals Corp. May 8, 2011 The Clarkdale Slag Project: Continuous Run Autoclave Tests - Plate & Frame Filter
Slide 34: Continuous Run Autoclave Tests - Pregnant Leach Solution
Searchlight Minerals Corp. May 8, 2011 The Clarkdale Slag Project: Continuous Run Autoclave Tests Pregnant Leach Solution
Slide 35: Continuous autoclave pilot test findings
Searchlight Minerals Corp. May 8, 2012 • While the two methods of analysis used in the continuous autoclave pilot test, one method provided good agreement with all previous work done thus far by all previous company independent consultants. Another analytical method did not. • The grade of gold take
Slide 36: Resin Testing
The Clarkdale Slag Project: Resin Testing Searchlight Minerals Corp. May 8, 2012 Arrakis Resin Testing on Clarkdale Slag Larger Resin Columns to be Used on Large Volume PLS Testing
Slide 37: Full Scale Resin Columns, CMC Pilot Plant
The Clarkdale Slag Project: Full Scale Resin Columns CMC Pilot Plant Searchlight Minerals Corp. May 8, 2012
Slide 38: Technical Accomplishments to Date
Searchlight Minerals Corp. May 8, 2012 • HPGR appears to have solved crushing and grinding problems because of both its ability to withstand the extreme wear imposed by the very abrasive Clarkdale Slag and its ability to enhance micro - fractures in the slag thereby eliminating the need for fine par
Slide 39: Test Results & Conclusions
Searchlight Minerals Corp. May 8, 2012 5 The Clarkdale Slag Project: Test Results & Conclusions • The batch and continuous autoclave test runs conducted in 2011 and 2012 demonstrated the ability of the POL process to solubilize gold while minimizing problematic base metals going into solution. • Hig
Slide 40: Next test work and feasibility study plans
Searchlight Minerals Corp. May 8, 2012 • Once the current gold removal from solution bench scale test - work is complete, a larger autoclave (which is currently being purchased) will be used to generate 500 - 800 liter batch Pregnant Leach Solution to demonstrate economic recovery of metallic gold f
Slide 41: Commercial Scale Autoclaves
Searchlight Minerals Corp. May 8, 2012 The Clarkdale Slag Project: Commercial Scale Autoclaves Commercial Autoclave Cutaway (Example of Existing Unit Installed in Other Location ) Commercial 3,000 tpd Autoclave (Example of Existing Unit Installed in Other Location )
Slide 42: The Searchlight Gold Project
Searchlight Minerals Corp. May 8, 2012 The Searchlight Gold Project • Early exploration project involving a 3,200 acre property in southern Nevada. • On February 11, 2010, we received final approval of our Plan of Operations from the BLM, which allows us to conduct an 18 - hole drill program on our
Slide 43: Summary
• Progressing the Clarkdale Slag Project • Complete extraction/resin testing • Complete pre - feasibility, feasibility and bankable feasibility studies for autoclave system • Engineer and design full - scale production facility for autoclave system at Clarkdale and supporting infrastructure. • Comme
Slide 44: Searchlight Minerals: Unearthing Opportunities
—_—= SEARCHLIGHT MINERALS Unearthing Opportunities
Searchlight Minerals — Shareholder Meeting (May 2012) on 6ix