JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Aim-listed Highland Gold has been given approval to develop its Kekura gold deposit, in the Chukotka region of Russia’s Far East, in accordance with legislation dealing with deposits of “federal significance”.
The Kekura deposit, which has an estimated Joint Ore Reserves Committee-compliant reserve of 1.7-million ounces of gold, is designated as a significant project, which required Highland to apply for special dispensation to begin mining at the site.
The permit is in addition to the standard exploration and mining licences already granted for Kekura and the surrounding Stadukhinsky ore zone, Aim-listed Highland said on Monday.
Highland stated that a definitive feasibility study for the Kekura development would be completed by the northern hemisphere autumn and that it would aim to begin commercial production in 2020.