Strickland Metals has advanced to phase two metallurgical testing on its Rogozna gold and base metals project in Serbia, following successful initial results in 2021. A 400kg bulk sample from the Shanac deposit is being tested at an ALS Laboratory in Perth, managed by Macromet. This phase aims to refine metal recovery techniques for distinct deposit zones containing gold, copper-gold, and lead-zinc-silver. Preliminary results showed promising recovery rates, with high copper and gold concentrations. Completion is expected by mid-2025, supporting upcoming Rogozna scoping studies.
Tag: gold mining
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Untapped Gold Reserves at Europe’s Largest Mine in Asturias, Spain
Underneath the Salave Lagoon in Asturias, Spain, lies Europe’s largest untouched gold mine, holding 30 tonnes of gold, equal to about 10% of Spain’s gold reserves. Despite private interest in mining the site and extensive exploration over decades, the local community remains divided on allowing the project to proceed. Explotaciones Mineras del Cantábrico, which holds the mining rights, plans to invest over €100 million, creating direct and indirect jobs while ensuring minimal disruption to the town. However, opposition groups, such as Oro No, argue that the project poses significant environmental risks and legal issues.
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Erdene Provides Update on Bayan Khundii Gold Project and Announces Drill Results
Erdene Resource Development Corp. has released results from shallow drilling at the Bayan Khundii orebody and provided an update on the Bayan Khundii Gold Project under construction. The project is being developed by Erdene Mongol LLC, a joint venture between Erdene and Mongolian Mining Corporation. Initial results from the drilling program confirmed the high-grade nature of the deposit, consistent with the reserve model for surface zones.
Erdene’s President and CEO, Peter Akerley, highlighted that a 13,500-metre reverse circulation drilling program will begin soon, aiming to finalize the mine plan before the start of mining in Q1 2025. Exploration drilling around the Bayan Khundii pit is also completed, with results expected in the coming weeks to update the mine plan in conjunction with current gold prices.
During Q3 2024, a total of 89 shallow diamond drill holes were completed in the high-grade zones within 15 meters of the surface. Additionally, 10 deeper holes were drilled for future mine planning. In Q4 2024, a grade control drilling program consisting of 13,500 meters will take place to refine mining plans further. The mining of Bayan Khundii is expected to start in late Q1 2025, with the mine to be operated using a leased fleet of equipment and employing nearly 90 local operators.
Mining will focus on the Bayan Khundii pit and a satellite pit at the Dark Horse Mane deposit starting in year 3. The operation aims to produce 650,000 tonnes per annum with a 4 g/t gold grade, reaching an annual gold production of 86,900 ounces during peak years.
Construction of an Integrated Waste Facility has begun, with tailings and waste rock to be managed in an environmentally controlled manner. Gold production is expected to ramp up over the initial 90 days of operation in 2025.
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New Precious Metal Deposit to Be Developed in Ulytau Region
In Kazakhstan’s Ulytau Region, a new precious metal deposit will be developed as part of the Symtas Project. The mining company Komkon LLP has submitted a mining plan for the project on Kazakhstan’s Unified Environmental Portal. Komkon has been conducting geological exploration in the Baikonyr area of Ulytau since 1998, with the deposit’s reserves officially placed on record in 2020.
The Symtas deposit holds reserves of 98.6 thousand tons of ore and 524.75 kg of gold, with an average content of 5.32 g/t (C1 category). Two areas, Mizernoye and Zapadnoye, have been identified as promising for further development. The project will feature two open pits, with Mizernoye extracting two ore bodies and Zapadnoye working with three. The project will also include a shared waste dump, an ore stockpile, a transport department, and supporting infrastructure, such as a field camp and repair services.
Komkon plans to extract gold over the next three years, with the project expected to break even in 2.3 years. The company has already signed a contract with Kazakhmys Smelting LLP for the supply of gold-bearing flux, which will be processed at the Zhezkazgan copper smelter. In 2017, a semi-industrial trial of Symtas ore demonstrated the feasibility of its use as flux, achieving a 92.07% recovery rate.
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Slivova Gold Project Set to Boost Kosovo’s Mining Industry with Open-Pit and Underground Operations
The Slivova gold project in Kosovo is being developed as a combination of open-pit and underground miningoperations. Initially owned by Innomatik Exploration Kosovo, a subsidiary of Canada’s Avrupa Minerals, the project was later acquired by AVU Kosova, another subsidiary of Avrupa. In May 2023, Western Tethyan Resources (WTR)signed an earn-in agreement with Avrupa, allowing WTR to potentially acquire up to 75% of the project.
The preliminary economic assessment (PEA) was completed in September 2023, estimating an annual production of 13,000 ounces of gold with a projected mine life of over seven years. The Slivova project, located along the Vardar Trend, about 30km south-east of Pristina, requires a capital expenditure of $33.4 million.
The measured and indicated resources at Slivova total 1.13 million tonnes, grading 4g/t gold and 15g/t silver, yielding an estimated 146,000 ounces of gold and 546,000 ounces of silver.
Both open-pit and underground mining methods will be employed, beginning with a small open-pit to access mineral-rich areas. Underground operations will follow, utilizing sublevel open stoping and sublevel caving. The ore processing will involve crushing, grinding, and leaching, ultimately producing gold-silver bullion. Infrastructure at the site includes roads, power lines, and a processing plant on a nearby hilltop.
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Altynalmas Begins New Gold Mining Project at Bakhtai Deposit in Kazakhstan
The gold mining company Altynalmas JSC has unveiled its mining plan for the Bakhtai deposit, located in the Aktogay district of Kazakhstan’s Karaganda region. The plan was presented on the Unified Environmental Portal of Kazakhstan. According to the project documentation, the Bakhtai deposit has never been developed before, although geological exploration of the site has been ongoing since the last century. From 2018 to 2021, the company drilled 52 boreholes and collected 30,000 samples.
The Bakhtai deposit is situated within 100 km of one of Altynalmas’ main assets, the Pustynnoe mining and processing complex, where the gold-bearing ore from the new deposit will be processed. The company plans to extract the ore using open-pit mining. The mineral resources were evaluated according to the KAZRC code and were registered in 2021. The identified reserves are estimated at 1.23 million tons of ore (containing 2,328 kg of gold with an average grade of 1.89 g/t), with inferred resources at 577,000 tons (containing 698 kg of gold with an average grade of 1.21 g/t).
The company intends to develop the deposit over a two-year period, with the quarry expected to produce 940,000 tons of ore per year. Following this, Altynalmas plans to conduct further operational exploration work in the Bakhtai ore field.
Notably, the gold mining company recently received an ICMI certificate from the International Cyanide Management Institute for its Pustynnoe deposit.
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Strickland Metals Discovers Significant Anomaly at Rogozna Gold Project in Serbia
Australian mining company Strickland Metals announced the discovery of a significant near-surface anomaly at the Obradov Potok target area of its Rogozna gold and base metals project in southern Serbia. Preliminary results from an induced polarisation survey revealed a strong chargeability anomaly beginning 100 meters below the surface, extending approximately 400 meters in strike length. This anomaly is closely associated with strong gold and pathfinder anomalism in the soil, suggesting extensive mineralisation in the area. Strickland Metals currently operates four drilling rigs at Rogozna, with four holes completed so far. The Rogozna site, with an estimated 5.44-million-ounce gold equivalent, has the potential to become one of the largest undeveloped gold deposits globally. Additionally, Strickland Metals recently secured a binding agreement with Ibaera Capital Fund’s subsidiary ISIHC to acquire Betoota Holdings for $37 million, which includes four exploration licenses within the Rogozna project.
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Gabriel Resources Seeks Annulment of ICSID Decision on Rosia Montana Project
Canadian mining company Gabriel Resources has filed a claim seeking the annulment of a decision by the World Bank’s International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) in March, which dismissed the company’s claims against Romania for compensation regarding its unsuccessful Rosia Montana gold mining project. Gabriel Resources has also requested a stay of enforcement for the court costs awarded to Romania, amounting to approximately $10 million (9.23 million euros), the mining company announced on Monday.
“The Arbitral Decision must be annulled due to fatal defects in the constitution of the ICSID tribunal given that two of the arbitrators who rendered the majority decision […] lacked the qualities of independence and impartiality that the ICSID Convention requires, and failed to adequately disclose relationships between themselves and with the parties involved in the case, including Romania’s counsel,” the company stated.
Gabriel Resources argues that the arbitrators’ decision is flawed due to excesses of power during the litigation, including disregard for applicable law, departure from procedural rules, and failure to state reasons for several decisions made during the arbitration. The litigation was initiated in 2015 by Toronto Stock Exchange-listed Gabriel Resources, whose main business has been the exploration and development of the Rosia Montana project in Romania, a major undeveloped gold deposit.
Gabriel Resources claimed around $6.7 billion in damages from Romania, including interest, as noted by Leaua Damcali Deaconu Paunescu, the Romanian legal team representing Romania in the case, in a March press release.
Gabriel Resources has held a license for the Rosia Montana gold and silver mine in Romania’s Alba county since 2000. The project was blocked by the Romanian state in 2014, following nationwide protests against its development that began in the fall of 2013 and lasted several months. The project faced significant opposition from environmentalists, local residents, and various civil groups, primarily due to concerns over the use of cyanide in the mining process and the displacement of local communities.
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Deutsche Balaton Increases Stake in Skeena Resources Amid Strong Market Performance
German investment firm Deutsche Balaton (DB) announced on Tuesday that it has slightly increased its equity stake in Skeena Resources (TSX: SKE) by acquiring 10,500 shares at an average price of C$7.049143 per share. The newly acquired shares represent 0.1% of Skeena’s outstanding shares, raising DB’s total holdings to approximately 10.9 million shares, which equates to 10.25% of the Canadian miner’s share capital.
Shares of Skeena Resources reached a 52-week high of C$7.67 late in the afternoon, closing 4.2% higher at C$7.65 per share, giving the company a market capitalization of C$694.6 million.
This development comes on the heels of Skeena’s recent announcement of a $750 million financing package for the Eskay Creek mine project in British Columbia’s Golden Triangle. This funding is set to provide the financial flexibility needed to restart what was once the highest-grade gold mine in the world. The restart is planned for 2027, with an anticipated annual production of 320,000 oz. gold over a 12-year mine life. According to a definitive feasibility study, the open-pit mine has an after-tax net present value (at a 5% discount rate) of C$2 billion and an after-tax internal rate of return of 43%.
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Kazakh Gold Mining Company to Launch New Ore Processing Facility
Kazakh gold mining company Kazakhaltyn Technology, part of Altynalmas, has announced plans to launch a new production facility for processing gold-bearing ores in the Akmola Region. According to reports, the crushing and screening complex will be located in the village of Aksu, just 18 km from Stepnogorsk, on an 0.8-hectare land plot.
The facility will feature six conveyor belts with a total length of approximately 210 meters and a two-tier vibrating screen, capable of sieving ore with a double-layer mesh. Additionally, the complex will be equipped with three crushers and a vibrating feeder, necessary for feeding material into the technological equipment. The feeder will have a capacity of 360-500 tons of ore per hour.
Raw materials will be delivered using dump trucks. The ore reserves will accumulate on a ramp with a turnaround area, from where loaders will transport it into the loading hopper.
Construction of the complex is set to be completed by November 2024, with operations scheduled to begin in December. The enterprise aims to process around 1 million tons of ore annually. To achieve this volume, 500 tons of sodium cyanide, used in leaching, will be required.
The facility is expected to operate until the end of 2032, after which decommissioning works will be organized.