The Head of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) Visited the Largest Placer Gold Deposit of Russia
On February 22, 2019, a delegation of the Government of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) chaired by the Head of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) Aisen S. Nikolayev paid a working visit to the Aldan Area. Within the framework of the program, the delegation visited the largest placer gold deposit of Bolshoy Kuranakh (buried placer), the development of which is carried out with the Aldan business unit of GV Gold. In accordance with the JORC estimation, the Proven and Probable reserves of the deposit total 1.5 Moz of gold (as on 01.07.2017).
In the course of the visit, the delegation had a meeting with the management of SAKHA Gold Mining, CJSC, discussed the issues related to development of the enterprise, health and safety, environment. The delegation visited the mining sites where a pre-season maintenance of the dredges, draglines and bulldozers was under way.
The dredging fleet of Aldan Business unit consists of two 400 L dredges and one 250 L dredge. Mining is carried out within the valley of the Bolshoy Kuranakh River. Over the season of 2018 (April-November), the asset produced 17.4 koz of gold, which exceeds the respective figure of 2017 by 17%. This is the record-breaking result for the history of the Aldan business unit. The asset carries out in-mine exploration in order to improve reliability of the geological data used in the operations and for the planning. The Company reviews the options for improvement of the gold bearing sands mining and processing technology and construction of selective mining sites as the promising asset development trends.
The activity of SAKHA Gold Mining, CJSC is associated with close interaction with the environment and local communities of the area where it operates. The Company’s EHS policy serves as the basis for strategic planning and management of the operations, setting and accomplishment of the objectives, efficient monitoring and control, on-going improvement of the enterprise’s activity.
The water supply system is partially closed. In order to eliminate the discharge of polluted process water and minimize the consumption of fresh water, the enterprise clarifies polluted water in the settling ponds located in the old dredge workings. Over the season, the enterprise monitors the water body in accordance with Water Body Monitoring Program approved with the Lena Basin Administration. The laboratory studies are carried out with the office of the Federal Healthcare Institution “Sanitary and Epidemiological Center of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) in the Aldan Area”. The inspections carried out with the Aldan Regional Environment Protection Committee and the Lena Territorial Administration of the Russian Federal Agency for Fisheries in 2018 identified no violations.
SAKHA Gold Mining operates and will operate in strict compliance with the acting environmental legislation and the Directive of the Head of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) “On Environmental Welfare of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)”.
