Location and History
Buryatzoloto combines two underground gold mines, Irokinda and Zun-Holba, located in the Republic of Buryatia in the Far East of Russia.
Irokinda is in the North-East of Buryatia, approximately 75 km from the town of Taksimo which has a Baikal-Amur railway station and an airport. The mine is accessible by an all-season road. Production at Irokinda started in 1985.
Zun-Holba is in the West of Buryatia, approximately 315 km from the village of Kultuk on the Trans-Siberian railway, and 400 km from the city of Irkutsk. It is also accessible by an all-season road. In operation since 1986.
Both these assets were acquired by Nordgold in late 2008 as part of the High River Gold transaction. Presently, Nordgold holds a 90.6% voting interest in Buryatzoloto.
Both Irokinda and Zun-Holba are relatively mature underground operations. Each has a processing plant with crushing, grinding, gravity and flotation circuits. The Zun-Holba plant also has a CIL circuit and related facilities.