An updated audit of mineral resources and ore reserves at the Mnogovershinnoye (MNV) mine supports the extension of its life by seven years to 2029, Russia-focused Highland Gold reported on Monday.
Further, a considerable increase in mineral resources has created the potential to add substantially more reserves in the future, the company noted.
The audit, conducted by Mincon International, takes into account data from near-mine exploration conducted at MNV in 2017, as well as updated mining parameters.
Gold contained in ore reserves (proven and probable) as of January 1, 2018, increased to 771 569 oz from the estimate of 452 866 oz published last year.
The reserve grade was lowered from 5.5 g/t to 2.7 g/t, reflecting lower cut-off grades and an increase in ore volume from 2.7-million tonnes to 9.1-million tonnes.
The new reserve grade is in line with the average grade mined at MNV in recent years.
Highland Gold stated that it continued to conduct near-mine exploration at MNV, both on the main licence areas and on three adjacent greenfield licences acquired over the past two years - Zamanchivaya, Kulibinskaya, and Vilkinskaya.
Work on the new licences carried out in 2018 included over 70 000 m3 of trenching, as well as core drilling at Zamanchivaya and Kulibinskaya. Logging and sampling are in progress.