Kazakhstan-based gold producer RG Gold is set to begin development of two additional deposits — Sharyk and Novodneprovskoye — located in the Burabay district of Akmola region, according to a newly published project disclosure.
The company plans to implement a mining plan for gold-bearing ores at both sites and construct a mining and hydrometallurgical complex with an annual processing capacity of 600,000 tonnes of ore.
RG Gold already operates within the Novodneprovskoye contract area, which includes the Novodneprovskoye, North Raigorodok and South Raigorodok deposits. Active production is currently underway at the Raigorodok sites using a gold processing plant with a capacity of 5 million tonnes of ore per year. In 2025, gold output at the facility reached 6.5 tonnes. Until 2021, oxidised ores at Raigorodok were also processed via heap leaching.
The new deposits — Sharyk and Novodneprovskoye — are expected to be developed through open-pit mining of oxidised ores. Annual production from the two pits is planned to supply at least 600,000 tonnes of ore for heap leaching processing.
According to project documentation, the planned operational life of Novodneprovskoye is five years, from 2027 to 2031, while Sharyk is expected to operate for one year in 2030. The relatively short timelines reflect the size of reserves. As of the end of 2024, Novodneprovskoye contained 1,246 kg of gold at an average grade of 0.99%, while Sharyk held 142 kg at a grade of 0.43%.
RG Gold has previously conducted exploration activities at Novodneprovskoye, Sharyk and Central Raigorodok. In 2017, approximately 1 billion tenge was allocated for geological exploration within the Novodneprovskoye contract area.
In 2025, RG Gold was acquired by China’s Zijin Gold International for approximately $1 billion from businessman Bulat Utemuratov.
