Alrosa may start associated gold extraction at placer deposits in Mirny district

MOSCOW. Oct 27 (Interfax) - Alrosa is considering the possibility of extracting associated gold during diamond mining at the placer deposits of the Mirny-Nyurba Mining and Processing Plant (MPP), the company said.

Alrosa's Vilyui Geological Exploration Expedition has received a positive conclusion from Rosgeoexpertiza for conducting geological exploration work in Mirny. Specialists intend to assess the effectiveness of extracting gold from the enrichment products of diamond-bearing sands at Concentration Plant No. 3.

Previously, reserves of the precious metal at the Gornoye and Irelakh placer deposits, owned by the Mirny-Nyurba MPP, were approved in the amount of 433 kg. Currently, associated gold mining is carried out simultaneously with the washing of diamond-bearing sands at sorting installations in the Mirny district.

The joint work of geologists and specialists of the MPP will help determine how economically feasible the additional extraction of gold from the enrichment products supplied to the plant for diamond mining is.

"After we confirm the effectiveness, associated gold mining can be introduced into the production process of the concentration plant," Alrosa Chief Geologist Roman Zhelonkin was quoted as saying.

The Alrosa subsidiary Almazy Anabara received a license for the associated extraction of gold and other precious metals back in 2016. Almazy Anabara, which mines placer deposits in northern Yakutia, extracts approximately 180 kg of gold per year as an associated mineral. Last year, Almazy Anabara purchased the Degdekan gold deposit in the Magadan region from Polyus , with explored reserves of approximately 100 tonnes of gold, including balance sheet C1+C2 reserves of 38 tonnes.