Gold mining company Polymetal has added eight years to the mine life of Kyzyl, in Kazakhstan, extending operations to 2047, the company reported on Monday, announcing an 18% increase in the ore reserves to 8.5-million ounces.
The updated ore reserve estimate comprises 41.7-million tonnes of ore with an average grade of 6.3 g/t.
Openpit reserves increased by 37% to 4.2-million ounces of gold contained at an average grade of 5.7 g/t, while underground reserves were up 4% to 4.3-million ounces of gold contained at an average grade of 7.1 g/t.
The total life-of-mine (LoM) was extended by eight years, while the LoM for the openpit added five years, in comparison with the previous feasibility study estimate conducted in 2015.
The updated estimate incorporates data from the drilling campaign, which resulted in the extension of mineralisation zones within the existing ore bodies and an update of the resource model.
Cut-off grades decreased from 2.0 g/t to 1.0 g/t for the openpit and from 3.7 g/t to 3.0 g/t for the underground compared to the previous feasibility study. Polymetal explains that the decline was driven by lower mining and processing costs based on actual operational and economic data and lower concentrate processing and transportation expenses which now take into account concentrate processing at the Amursk POX.
The new mining schedule assumes increased capacity of the Kyzyl processing plant, which grew from the originally designed 1.8-million tonnes a year to two-million tonnes a year in 2019.