Reno maker of gold-recovery system focuses on small mines

A Reno company that's developed a system of gold recovery that doesn't require water or chemicals hopes to score a hit with its technology with junior mining operations.

AU Goose's dry recovery system uses a series of concentrators to separate gold from ore and could prove appealing to modest-sized mine operations that lack capital for more expensive traditional recovery systems, says James Kalicki, a Reno lawyer who serves as the company's president and chief executive officer.

"With this, you don't need to be next to a water supply source, and you don't need to introduce chemicals. It will be much more efficient," he says. "There are a lot of properties that have very rich reserves, but they are not large enough for big mining projects they are the ones that I think will use our technology."

The AU Goose technology also could find a market among one-person gold operations, Kalicki says.

"They are out there with sluices and pans to get gold, and with our process they now have some technology that allows them to get concentrates on much faster scale," he says.

The company's concentrating machines are manufactured in Southern California and shipped to Reno, where they will be adjusted and calibrated depending on the size of the gold found in an ore sample.

One primary concentrator can handle one to two tons per hour. A secondary concentrator further refines the ore body, and a third produces a concentrate rich enough for smelting.

The AU Goose extraction and recovery technology was developed by Dave Taelour, the company's chief research and development officer and a 40-year veteran of the industry.

Kalicki hopes to have dry recovery systems in five to 10 mines by January of 2011 as word of the process spreads.

Mining operations in Canada and Australia have expressed interest in the technology, he says.