Mining News - Russia’s largest gold producer, announces that the first doré gold has been poured at Natalka, Polyus’ main greenfield project, during the ongoing hot commissioning process at the Natalka mill.
As part of pre-commissioning at Natalka, the full processing facility is undergoing consecutive 24-hour trial runs.
Polyus expects the full ramp-up of the Natalka mill to be completed by the end of 2018. The processing plant is the largest in Russia, with a capacity of 10 mtpa. Following the ramp-up, the mill is expected to achieve annual production of c. 420—470 koz for the duration of the mine life. This will contribute to the Company’s targeted increase in overall gold production of approximately 2.8 moz in 2019.
Natalka has Ore Reserves of 16 moz and Mineral Resources totalling 34 moz, according to the JORC Code methodology, and is the 15th largest gold reserve globally.
According to the Company’s current life of mine plan, and based on anticipated gold volumes, Natalka has an estimated mine life of 31 years of open pit mining.
Natalka is located in the Tenkinskiy District of the Magadan Region, approximately 400 km from the city of Magadan and 130 km from the district center Ust-Omchug.
The Natalka deposit was initially discovered in 1942. In 1944, pilot mining using conventional underground stoping methods at the Natalka deposit was launched. In 1945, the Natalka deposit was incorporated under the entity Rudnik Imeni Matrosova (“Matrosov Mine”). In 1972, a processing plant was built.
In August 2003, the Government auctioned a 38 per cent stake in Matrosov Mine, which controlled the license for Natalka deposit. Polyus won the auction and completed the acquisition of the stake in 2004. Between 2005 and 2008, the Company consolidated 100 per cent of Matrosov Mine and, by extension, the Natalka deposit.
Polyus (www.polyus.com) is the largest gold producer in Russia and one of the top 10 gold miners globally with the lowest cost position. Based on its 2016 Ore Reserves and Mineral Resources, Polyus ranks second by attributable gold reserves and third by attributable gold resources among the world’s largest gold mining companies.
Polyus group’s principal operations are located in Krasnoyarsk, Irkutsk and Magadan regions and the Sakha Republic (Yakutia).