Name: Pioneer mine.
Location: The mine is located in the Amur region of Russia, between the BAM railway and the Trans-Siberian railway.
Controlling Company: Petropavlovsk.
Brief Description: Pioneer is one of the largest gold mines in Russia and is also Petropavlovsk’s flagship mine.
Brief History: The Pioneer mine was acquired by Petropavlovsk in 2001 as a greenfield site. Since then, it has been developed into a mine with a capacity to process an estimated 6.6-million tonnes of gold ore a year. It also has a seasonal heap-leach facility.
Products: Gold.
Geology/Mineralisation: The mine is located on the south side of the Mongolo-Okhotskiy fold/thrust line, within the belt of mineralisation associated with the collision of the Eurasian and Amur plates. The Pioneer deposit comprises several ore zones, most of which are steep-dipping. Of these, Andreevskaya and North-East (NE) Bakhmut are high-grade and have significantly contributed to the mine’s production profile to date. Group geolo- gists have subsequently identified several further sequential ore zones, of which Alexandra and Shirokaya are the most signifi- cant. Deeper extensions of the NE Bakhmut and Andreevskaya zones are being successfully explored with the aim of starting underground mining.
Reserves: Proven and probable nonrefractory and refractory reserves as at December 31, 2015, were estimated at 122.76-million tonnes, grading 0.8 g/t gold.
Resources: Measured and indicated nonrefractory and refractory resources as at December 31, 2015, were estimated at 178.87-million tonnes, grading 0.72 g/t gold. Inferred non- refractory and refractory resources were estimated at 59.51-million tonnes, grading 0.61 g/t gold.
Mining Method: Currently, mining at Pioneer is entirely openpit and only its nonrefractory ore is mined and processed; however, the decision has been made to develop an under- ground mine.
Major Infrastructure and Equipment: The majority of the mine’s ore is processed at its resin-in-pulp plant, which operates throughout the year. Some low-grade material is processed in an on-site heap-leaching facility.
Prospects: Petropavlovsk continues to explore the potential to further develop the Pioneer mine, with a particular focus on underground mining. Following the acquisition of a new licence in December 2015 (Sosnovaya), the total licence area for the Pioneer project has increased to about 1 300 km2. Group geologists expect that many areas within the outline of Pioneer’s licence area have the potential to contribute to the mine’s overall reserve base.
Contact Person: Group head of external communications Alya Samokhvalova.
Contact Details:
Petropavlovsk,
tel +44 20 7201 8900,
email as@petropavlovsk.net, and
website http://www.petropavlovsk.net.