Key facts

Location 720km from Blagoveshchensk
History Acquired as a greenfield licence in 2005

First production 2011

1.4Moz gold produced to date

Licence type/status 3 licences, valid until 2025 – 2040
Mining method Open-pit mine
Mineralisation type Orogenic type gold
Processing circuit RIP plant
Plant capacity 4.7Mtpa RIP plant
2020 Recovery RIP 94%
JORC Ore Reserves(1)

1.25Moz non-refractory (0.97g/t)

0.93Moz refractory (1.04g/t)

JORC Ore Resources(1)

2.04Moz non-refractory (0.98g/t)

1.20Moz refractory (1.12g/t)

Workforce c.1,435
Power National grid

 

(1) As of 31 December 2020 Mineral Resources shown as Measured & Indicated, inclusive of Ore Reserves

 

At a glance statistics

 

Overview

Commissioned in 2011, Albyn is the Group’s newest mine, accounting for 36% of total gold production in FY 2018 and 33% in FY 2019.  Albyn is also the Company’s key non-refractory gold mining asset and all gold ore is processed on-site using standard resin-in-pulp technology to produce gold doré.  In Q1 2021, Albyn had produced approximately 22.3Koz of gold.

The Albyn project consists of three adjoining licences covering multiple orebodies within four key deposits: Albyn, Elginskoye, Unglichikanskoye and Afanasevskoye.  All these orebodies are open down-dip. Elginskoye, Unglichikanskoye and Afanasevskoye are also open along the strike.

Albyn (including satellites) had an estimated 4.21Moz of Mineral Resources as at 31 December 2020, of which 2.18Moz were Ore Reserves.  Wide areas adjacent to the mine remain under-explored and Group geologists consider Albyn has the potential for further, large gold discoveries beyond the recently identified extensions of Elginskoye and Unglichikanskoye.

 

Operations

Albyn is a large (2.2km long), open pit, bulk tonnage operation. The Group operates its own mining fleet at Albyn, consisting of modern diesel and electrical excavators, dump trucks, drill rigs, bulldozers and other vehicles. Mining productivity and equipment utilisation is optimised by operating two shifts daily throughout the year.

The Albyn licence includes multiple defined orebodies.  All are non-refractory and can be treated at the 4.7Mtpa RIP plant, which operates throughout the year.  The RIP plant comprises of two identical grinding lines, each with a 1.8Mtpa design capacity.  Operational optimisations and improvements completed since the Albyn plant was commissioned in 2011 have allowed for a 30% increase over the original design processing capacity.

From 2020, the focus of operations will switch to the Elginskoye to coincide with the depletion of ore currently mined from the main pit at Albyn. Ore mined at Elginskoye will be transported by truck along a c.30km all-season road to the existing processing facilities at Albyn.  Longer term, Elginskoye is considered highly prospective with recent drilling on the periphery of the known JORC resource model hitting attractive intersections and the orebody remains open in all directions.

(1) Discrepancies between gold recovered and gold produced is a function of gold recovery from the processing circuit

 

Geology

Albyn is located on the Mongolo-Okhotskiy thrust zone, within the belt of mineralisation associated with the collision of the Eurasian and Amur plates. The mineralisation at Albyn comprises a series of gently dipping, sub-parallel metasomatic zones, which appear to be open down dip. They show variable thickness and grade, extending for c.4.5km in strike length.

The mineralisation at Elginskoye is confined within gently dipping metasomatic zones which dip to the south. Gold mineralisation has been confirmed from drilling and extends over a strike length in excess of 5.7km.  It remains open in all directions.  Unglichikanskoye comprises a series of sub-parallel, relatively narrow, steeply dipping zones, which are proven over a strike length in excess of 5.2km.  It remains open in all directions.  There is a relatively narrow, c.1.5km long single zone of gold mineralisation with a steep dip at Afanasevskoye, which is open in down-dip and west strike directions.

There are several potential exploration targets in addition to these four known deposits, of which Ulgen, Yasnoye and Leninskoye are the most significant.  Most of the licence area remains underexplored and is highly prospective.

All known Mineral Resources and Reserves at Albyn deposit are currently classified as non-refractory. Elginskoye has both non-refractory and refractory Mineral Resource and Ore Reserves.  Refractory gold mineralisation is also known to exist at the Unglichikanskoye deposit.

 

History

The Group acquired its first Albyn licence in 2005 when the project area was a greenfield site. Albyn was subsequently explored, developed and constructed principally using in-house expertise.  Subsequent exploration identified two large adjacent (satellite) deposits, Elginskoye and Unglichikanskoye.