OREANDA-NEWS. January 5, 2012. In line with the Company’s strategic development plan Polyus Gold International Limited (“Polyus”) announces the successful commissioning of a mining and processing facility at the Verninskoye deposit in the Irkutsk region of Russia.  A total of c.  USD 340 mln has been invested in the project.

Construction of the facility commenced in 2009 and involved the Company’s specialists building a gold extraction plant on a greenfield site with design throughput capacity of 2.2 million tonnes of ore per annum.  This included the procurement of all necessary mining and haulage equipment; and building roads, warehouses, a shift camp and a tailings facility. During the process, plant construction open pit development was also performed with 5.3 million cubic meters of rock and 1.36 million tonnes of ore mined in the two year period. Some of the mined ore was processed at the Company’s other processing facilities (226 K tonnes). Starting from 2012, ore mined at the Verninskoye deposit will be processed at the new gold extraction plant. 

During the first half of 2012 the process plant is expected to operate using a flowsheet that provides for gravity concentrate generation at an ore grinding circuit with subsequent final processing to end product at the existing process plant at Zapadnoye.

During the second half of 2012, upon installation of flotation and hydrometallurgical equipment, Polyus intends to commence operation of  the Verninskoye mining and processing facility using design gravity and flotation flowsheet with base gold production directly at the process plant.

During the construction, the Company continued active exploration of the flanks and deep levels of the Verninskoye deposit. In 2010 an  audit of the mineral resources base at Verninskoye  resulted in an increase of proved and probable reserves to 65.4 million tonnes of ore or 5.8 million ounces(179.0 tonnes) of gold. This increase in reserves allows for the possibility of expanding the process plant throughput capacity to deliver increased gold output of  3.6 million tonnes per annum. The Company is currently estimating options for development of an extended pit.

 “Commissioning of this new mining and processing facility in the Irkutsk region will enable us to  significantly increase gold production and is yet another milestone in the implementation of Company’s strategic development plan.”  said the CEO of Polyus, German Pikhoya.

“In the beginning of 2012 the plant will operate in start-up mode ramping up to design throughput capacity in H2 2012.” – noted James Nieuwenhuys, the Chief Operating Officer of Polyus.