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Precious metals mining company Polymetal has announced a 25% increase in Ore Reserves at Kyzyl to 10.3 Moz of gold following an initial reserve estimate at East Bakyrchik of 2.2 Moz of gold.
The initial JORC-compliant Ore Reserve estimate for East Bakyrchik (Zone 2 of Kyzyl) as at 1 April 2020 comprises 18.8 Mt of ore at an average grade of 3.7 g/t containing 2.2 Moz of gold, roughly 80% of which are underground. Total Kyzyl Ore Reserves now stand at 59.3 Mt of ore with an average grade of 5.4 g/t containing 10.3 Moz of gold - a 25% increase compared with the estimate at the end of 2019.
Open-pit reserves increased by 9% to 4.3 Moz of gold contained at an average grade of 4.9 g/t, underground reserves were up 40% to 6.0 Moz at an average grade of 5.8 g/t. East Bakyrchik has added five years to the total Kyzyl life of mine (2050), while life-of-mine (LOM) for the open pit has extended by six years (to 2036). East Bakyrchik open-pit LOM average strip ratio is 27 t/t.
The new mining schedule assumes an increase in the capacity of the Kyzyl processing plant from 2.0 Mtpa to 2.2 Mtpa in 2022.
"A substantial reserve addition at East Bakyrchik extends the life-of-mine at Kyzyl to 30 years", said Vitaly Nesis, group CEO of Polymetal. "Importantly, open-pit mining will now continue till 2036".