Privately owned Cogema Resources will investigate the possibility of increasing production at the Jubilenoye gold mine in northwestern Kazakhstan.
The operation, owned by the Kazakh government, is currently producing about 800 kg of gold per year. Reserves are estimated to contain 30 to 40 tonnes of gold.
Over the next 18 months, Cogema will carry out a $5-million feasibility study to confirm reserves and define economic and technical aspects of the project.
Cogema maintains that annual production can be increased to 3.5 tonnes. This could be accomplished by developing an underground operation, once open-pit mining is finished, and by reprocessing low-grade ore found in old mine tailings. The company is also considering building a concentrating plant.
If the feasibility study is positive, Cogema’s Kazahkstan-based subsidiary will operate the mine. The subsidiary, CogemAltyn, is 40%-owned by Cogema, 50%-owned by a Kazakh company and 10%-owned by European investors.
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