Russian gold producer Polymetal International has increased gold reserves of the Komarovskoye field in Kazakhstan by 57%, to 1.374 million ounces, or 42.7 tons, Polymetal said in a statement on October 11.

The reserves were calculated under the 2012 JORC standards and “incorporate data from 387 diamond drill holes completed after Polymetal had agreed to acquire the asset in April-June 2016,” the company said.

As a result, the company plans to raise processing of ore at the field by 100%, to 2 million tons a year, which will be transported by railroad to the Varvara processing plant. In January-September the Varvara plant processed 1.4 million tons of ore from the Komarovskoye field.

“The additional Komar ore will replace the lower-grade material from the Varvara deposit and consequently, increase production and result in lower costs at the Varvara processing hub. Mine-to-mill transportation costs for Komar ore are low and come at approximately $4.5 per ton. This makes processing Komar ore at the existing plant at Varvara a superior option compared to the construction of a new on-site processing facility in terms of return on invested capital (ROIC),” the company said. (Prime/Ukrainian metal)

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