Outotec will deliver gold recovery technology for the Pokrovskiy hydrometallurgical plant in the Russian Far East in the Amur region. The contract was signed with JSC Pokrovskiy mine, which is part of Russia’s third biggest gold producer, the Petropavlovsk Group. The delivery is based on the basic engineering carried out by Outotec. Outotec’s scope of delivery comprises the main equipment for the pressure leaching process including four 60 m3 autoclaves, with related equipment and a process control system. The equipment will be delivered over the next 18 months.
The Pokrovskiy facility needs new process technology to process sulphide ore. The ore is delivered from the Pioneer and Malomir gold mines in the Amur region. The facility produces annually 144,900 oz of gold. The capacity of the new pressure leaching plant is estimated to be 600,000 t/y of concentrate.
The contract follows the Petropavlovsk Group’s development plan to install a POX plant at the Pokrovskiy site to process flotation concentrate from the Malomir and Pioneer mines. The project design was developed by Outotec based on extensive metallurgical studies carried out by the Group’s research and development centres, Irgiredmet and Gidrometallurgiya, and also at the Group’s metallurgical test plant (based in Blagoveschensk).
The total annual POX plant capacity is estimated at some 600,000 t of concentrate and the contract price is about EUR30 million. A contract for the supply of flotation equipment from Outotec is also expected to be signed in the near future.
Commenting on the announcement, Peter Hambro, Chairman of Petropavlovsk PLC said: “I am delighted to report that our plans to create a POX processing hub at Pokrovskiy are progressing well. I believe that Petropavlovsk, with our own expert research centres and PHM Engineering, working together with Outotec will be successful in establishing a world-class POX processing hub, thus giving the Group a strong competitive advantage in a new and very prospective field.”
“We are hoping to establish a long-term strategic partnership with Petropavlovsk Group. We are able to offer sustainable technology solutions for efficient recovery of gold and this delivery opens up us new passages for other gold projects in Russia and elsewhere. Moreover, this partnership enables us also new research possibilities and resources in Russia”, states Outotec’s CEO Pertti Korhonen.