Overview
Location
Asacha is located in the Kamchatka krai, occupying a 1000 km peninsular in Far East Russia. By road Asacha is some 150 kilometres to the south of the port of Petropavlovsk - Kamchatsky, the regional capital. The first 90 km of the road is mostly paved, being the road to the Mutnovskaya geothermal power station. From the turn-off to the site is a 60 km long unpaved all-weather road that has been constructed by the company.
Map of the Kamchatka Region (new window)
Environmental
Asacha Environmental Assessment, Nov. 2004 PDF (2.7Mb)
Ownership
The Company holds a 95.03% interest in Trevozhnoye Zarevo (TZ) which holds mining and exploration licences covering both the Asacha (24km2) and Rodnikova (16km2) deposits. The Company has an obligation to acquire the remaining 4.97% of TZ for US$500,000 once TZ has received the required construction permit for dangerous objects.
History
- VNIPI Feasibility Study - 2003
- Additional Metallurgical Testwork - 2005-2007
- Environmental Impact Assessment - 2005
- Environmental Management Plan - 2006
- New Mineral Resource/Ore Reserve Estimate - 2006
- Development mining commenced - 2007
- Business Plan and Capital Cost Update - May 2008
Status
In 2008, having reviewed and updated the feasibility study solutions, the Company undertook intensive mining and construction activities at the site. In February 2008 mine development works started with a self propelled Boomer 282 drilling rig and two underground dump trucks in operation. A permanent compressor station and a Cummins C550 D5P diesel power station were installed at site.
During 2008 mine development and mine preparatory works of 804.44 metres were completed, corresponding to approximately 8,200 m3. During test mining of block #1 and by-product ore extraction, about 3,000 tons of ore were mined with average grade 20.9 g/t. Overall extracted ore (including the adit ore extracted earlier) is about 30,000 tonnes.
A special storage site at Thermalny (60 km from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky and 90 km from the Asacha site) was organized to store equipment and materials to be transported to the site.
During 2008 all the plant main equipment ordered in 2007 in China was delivered to Kamchatka and the bulk of it was transported to site. In 2008 contracts for delivery of pumps, lifting equipment and the smelting unit were signed and the ordered equipment was delivered to Kamchatka.
In September 2008 a contract for the supply of the metal framework of the plant building was signed with the Arkaim Metalconstruction Company (Khabarovsk). By the beginning of 2009 about one-third of the metal ordered was delivered to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, and 50 tonnes to the Asacha site.
Excavation of the plant's foundation area and its gravel backfilling was completed by July 2008 and major concrete operations commenced using both fixed and mobile mixing units. An on-site crushing and screening plant processed basalt for use in the gravel bedding of foundations, concrete works throughout the construction site and maintenance of on-site roads. As of 1 April 2009 the concrete foundations plate under the plant was 80% complete. A contract for designer supervision of the plant construction was signed in September 2008, and the chief plant designer visited the construction site as required by the relevant regulations.
The first tailings storage compartment has been cleared of trees and vegetation cover. Earthworks on the tailings storage facility site started and the film screen for the tailings facility was purchased. The ditch to drain water from the tailings site is under construction.
Following the decision to lay an overhead 35 kV power transmission line from Mutnovskaya Geothermal Power Station to Asacha, with a length of about 50 km, the relevant feasibility study was submitted to the State Expert Committee at Kamchatka and the relevant permit of the authorities was obtained.
Emergency power supply is planned to be ensured by three emergency diesel generators with capacity of 1000kW each, equipped with heat cogeneration system, which may be started manually. The emergency diesel generators will be installed in three heat-insulated steel containers equipped with electric heating system, which will allow maintaining them in constant readiness regardless of weather conditions. Three such generators on the basis of MTU diesel units manufactured under the contract with the Eurotrade Company were ordered in 2008 and have already been delivered to Kamchatka.
The main principle of Asacha construction management is performance of works on an own-account basis with contractors engaged to carry out special activities. To implement this principlel the Construction Department was established in TZ with the objectives of efficient management of construction procedures, quality control and coordination of efforts of all parties involved in construction. In 2008 some items of construction equipment including trucks, excavators, bulldozers and loaders were purchased to cover the demands of construction activities.
The basic construction solutions used at Asacha involve the maximum possible application of lightweight steel-frame prefabricated buildings and module blocks which will considerably reduce construction costs as well as eventual reclamation costs. Four huge steel hangars were purchased and two (used as storage facilities) were assembled on the site.
The following infrastructure components were under construction in 2008: the underground mine, plant foundations, tailings storage facility, water intake station and water supply pipelines, boiler house, two cold warehouses, as well as temporary buildings and facilities required to complete construction works.
The total capital cost of the Asacha project prior to commencement of production is now estimated at:
| US$ million | ||
|---|---|---|
| Capital expenditure | Mine and mining equipment and facilities | 2.5 |
| Gold plant, site facilities and tailings storage (1st phase) | 5.5 | |
| Off-site power supply and other infrastructure | 7.9 | |
| Contingency | 1.6 | |
| Total capital | 17.5 | |
| Other costs | Pre-production mining, spares and consumables and other operating costs | 11.1 |
| 28.6 | ||
| Less VAT recoveries | 5.5 | |
| 23.1 |
A further US$9.3 million of capital expenditure (including US$0.8 million contingency) will be incurred after the commencement of production on mine development and the second phase of tailings storage and solid waste landfill, previously estimated at US$9.2 million.
Strategy
The mine plan and design remains based on ore extraction by underground mining methods only, with the processing of the free-milling ore taking place in a conventional carbon-in-leach process plant. However, a study has now been completed which indicates that it is technically feasible to open pit the top portion of the orebody. Work will continue in this area, as extraction of the upper portion of the orebody should increase the mineable ore reserves and improve the safety and economics of the project.
Proposed Scheme
- Throughput: 175,000 tonnes pa mine/plant
- Mine: Underground sub-level shrinkage (openface/ore shrinkage)
- Plant: Carbon-In-Leach (CIL)
- Production: c. 84,000 oz of gold and 160,000 oz of silver pa
- Life: c. 7 years