BEREZITOVY

Location and History

BEREZITOVY

The Berezitovy gold mine is located in the Amur region of the Russian Federation, approximately 50 km north of Urusha (a town of 5,000 people) and is accessible via an all-season road, most of which is paved. The mine is located just 50 km from the Trans-Siberian railway and 100 km from Skovorodino railway station.

Commercial production began at the Berezitovy mine in 2007. The Berezitovy was acquired by Nordgold in late 2008, as part of the controlling interest in High River Gold. Nordgold currently holds a 100% interest in High River, which in turn holds a 99.91% interest in Berezitovy.

Gold production (koz)

2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010
94.3 79.7 125.3 122.8 120.3 116.3 107.1 71.4

Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves Summary (31 December 2017)

Category Ore (Kt) Grade (g/t) Au (Koz)
RESOURCES
Measured and Indicated 5,697 1.61 294
Inferred 3,310 1.53 162
Inferred Underground Resources 166 6.52 35
Total (M+I+I) 9,173 1.67 492
RESERVES
Proven and Probable 7,649 1.47 363


For more information, please see Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves Press Release

Technology

The Berezitovy mine is a well-established open pit. The Berezitovy processing plant contains crushing, SAG and ball milling and CIP circuits, a tailings water filter plant and a dry tailings storage facility, a water reservoir and potable water wells located on the Khaikta River, sanitary landfills, a sewage treatment plant, mine water settling ponds. Berezitovy has recently expanded to include a heap leach operation to treat low-grade ore.

Milling and Classification
Nordgold’s open pit operations use conventional surface mining methods involving drilling and blasting, followed by a load and haul process allowing for selective mining of the ore. Ore from the pit is then transported to a designated stockpile and fed into a crushing circuit. The crushed material is then moved onto a conveyor, which delivers the ore to a grinding circuit consisting of SAG and ball mills. The milled product is then thickened and leached into a CIP circuit.
Cyanide leaching and sorption
The cyanidation of the milled ore is carried out in the CIP or CIL circuit. During the CIP or CIL stage, pulp flows through several tanks where sodium cyanide and oxygen have been added to dissolve gold into solution. In the absorption stage, this solution flows through several tanks containing activated carbon. Gold then attaches onto the activated carbon, which flows counter current to the pulp, while screens separate the barren pulp from the gold-loaded carbon.
Elution
The final gold loaded carbon is removed and washed before undergoing elution. Elution is achieved by introducing the gold loaded carbon to a solution of sodium cyanide at a high temperature (>110°C) and under high pressure. This results in the reversal of the attachment process, with the gold detaching from the carbon back into solution. This produces a small volume of solution with a high gold concentration.
Electrowinning
The gold loaded eluate solution that emerges from the elution process is passed through electrowinning cells, where gold is deposited onto the cells’ cathodes.
Smelting
The cathodes then undergo a smelting process, further refining the gold and leading to the eventual production of gold ingots suitable for transport to a refinery.

2017 Deliveries

  • To increase the ore mined volumes as the first ore is expected to be extracted from the Stage 3 cutback in the second quarter of 2017, replacing Stage 1 ore mining in the same quarter.
  • Focus on throughput increase by modifying the crushing circuit and replacing the SAG mill coupling.
  • Intensive drill the Khaikta anomalies that could provide additional resources for the Berezitovy mill if drilling confirms economic mineralisation.
  • Commence underground development in 2017.

CONTACTS

tel.+7 495 644 44 73
press@nordgold.com

Irina Dormidontova

RECRUITMENT MANAGER
tel.+7 495 644 44 73
job@NORDGOLD.COM

OLEG BAZALEEV

HEAD OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS
tel.+7 495 644 4473 #707 6746
OLEG.BAZALEEV@NORDGOLD.COM
Go up
About Us
Operations
Sustainable Development
Investors & Media
Careers