The experimental industrial model pilot plant set up in 2009 at Blagoveshchensk was designed and completed by two Petropavlovsk subsidiaries, PHM Engineering and OAO Irgiredmet.

The purpose of this plant is to define and make final refinements to the parameters of processing to be used on gold bearing, titanium magnetite and iron bearing ores on a semi industrial scale. The plant is designed to process up to 500 kilograms per hour of initial ore. Work at the plant covers the following areas:

• The three phase splitting of initial ore to ore of minus 10 mm (SAG)
• Wet three phase crushing in the ball mills
• Classification of spiral classifiers and sand cones
• Gravity concentration of centrifugal and screw separators
• Photometric, xray radiometric, wet magnetic, high gradient magnetic, and also electrostatic separation
• Thickening and filtration of pulps
• The drying of concentrates; percolation; absorption, cyanidation; flotation concentration
• Autoclave oxidizing leaching
• The mechanical activation of the gold bearing concentrates
• The neutralization of toxic pulps and solutions.

This project gives Petropavlovsk the flexibility to test any type of ore separator under conditions approximating real production. Such test work means that it will be possible to introduce the most cost efficient, productive and innovative processes at the Group’s mining projects in the Russian Far East.