Production of gold at the Pakrut Gold Project is expected to start next month, according to the Ministry of Industry and New Technologies (MoINT).
An official source at MoINT says the first samples of affinage gold were received at the Pakrut Gold Project in the autumn of 2015 and that was done for the purpose of testing the equipment.
“It is necessary to stock up 1,000 tons of gold concentrate in order to launch industrial production. The company has the gold extraction plant with annual capacity of 600,000 tons of ore and the affinage plant”, the source said.
China Nonferrous Gold Limited, the mineral exploration and mining company currently mining the Pakrut Gold Project, announced that the first gold ingots were poured at the Pakrut Gold Project on December 29, 2015.
Pakrut gold mine, located approximately 120 kilometers north-east of Dushanbe, is owned by China Nonferrous Gold (formerly known as Kryso Resources). The mine development is being undertaken in two phases, which are expected to cost $223 million in total.
1,300 people now work for the Pakrut Gold Project and more than 60% of them are nationals of Tajikistan.
China Nonferrous Gold Limited (CNG) (formerly Kryso Resources Corporation Limited) is a London Stock Exchange AIM-listed mineral exploration and development company, focused on projects in Tajikistan.
The mining license for the Pakrut Gold Project was issued in January 2012 and is valid until November 2030. Construction of the mine began in September 2012 and operations are expected to commence in 2014. As of March 2014, the main decline was developed to a depth of 600 m out of the planned 1,800 m. The west ventilation access decline was developed to 285 m out of the planned 520 m.
According to the Mining Technology site, the mine is estimated to process 660,000 tons of ore per annum initially and 1.32 million tons per annum beginning with 2017.
The JORC-compliant resources of Pakrut gold mine are estimated at 4.72 million ounces of gold at a cut-off grade of 0.5 g/t.
The mine is expected to extract 2,000 tons of ore per day and approximately 9.8 million tons over its estimated 19-year life.
The Pakrut deposit remains open and is expected to yield further JORC Code-compliant resources over time. Over 42,000 meters of drilling has been carried out to date, including 7,730 meters in 2012.
China Nonferrous Gold Limited is the first foreign company to obtain 100% ownership of a mining and exploration project in Tajikistan. (Asia-Plus/Business World Magazine)