RG Gold company has announced a reduction in the extraction volumes of the yellow metal at the Raigorodok deposit in Akmola region. The decrease in extraction rates may occur as early as this year due to the depletion of oxide ore reserves, as reported by inbusiness.kz.
Currently, the gold miner can process 7 million tons of raw material, with the majority (5 million tons) undergoing cyanidation followed by sorption on coal. The second technology – heap leaching of oxidized gold ore – is designed for 2 million tons.
According to Marat Shaimardanov, the financial director of RG Gold, there is a high probability that the second processing method will need to be suspended, as the reserves of Raigorodok’s oxide ore are nearly depleted.
It is known that in 2023, the EBITDA indicator was approximately $200 million with production of 190 thousand ounces. With the freezing of certain processing capacities, this figure is likely to decrease.
However, the gold miner hopes that geologists will discover additional reserves in nearby areas. In that case, the company will be able to resume the heap leaching technology.