Nord Gold UK Societas, the internationally diversified gold producer, expects to increase mining and processing capacity of its largest mine, the flagship Gross mine (Yakutia, Russia), by approximately 24% to approximately 18 Mt of ore per year from the third quarter of 2021, up from 14.5 Mt of ore processed in 2019, following the completion of a two year expansion project that began in 2020. The total capital expenditure on the project is expected to be approximately $58 million.

Gross is Nordgold’s largest mine. In 2020, Gross increased production by 7% year-on-year to 278,000 oz, contributing 26% to Nordgold’s total production of 1.0456 Moz. The expansion project consists of three main stages:

• The installation of additional processing equipment including a new 22 m stacker, three adsorption columns, five new pumps and all associated infrastructure and services;
• An increase in the mining fleet by the addition of ten new mine trucks, one excavator and two drilling rigs and a number of auxiliary vehicles, including buses, fuel trucks, mobile repair units, a crane truck and a front loader; and
• The expansion of auxiliary infrastructure, including new camp facilities and laboratory equipment.

Nordgold intends to complete a Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) in the first half of 2021 in respect of a plan to further increase the Gross mine’s mining and processing capacity up to approximately 26 Mt of ore per year from 2023, which, if successful, will be followed by a corresponding Feasibility Study (FS) expected to be completed in the second half of 2021. Initial order of magnitude assessments indicate that this expansion would require a capital investment in the region of US$150 million and increase production by up to 100,000 oz of gold per annum with an expected Life of Mine AISC (after expansion) of $720/oz. These statistics are subject to confirmation by the planned PEA and FS.

Nikolai Zelenski, Nordgold CEO, said: “The Gross mine has been an outstanding asset for Nordgold. The mine was our third new development since 2013 and was completed on time and on budget. It has delivered excellent results from the day it was launched. The Gross district in Yakutia is a world class mining district, with high growth potential. We see considerable further opportunity at the Gross mine and are pleased to be able to announce this investment which will increase capacity. In addition, we continue development of the new Tokko project, adjacent to our Gross mine. It is expected that Preliminary Economic Assessment for the Tokko project will be completed shortly and is expected to confirm approximately 3 Moz of resources with further exploration potential. Like Gross, Tokko has the potential to be developed into a mine with an estimated construction cost of $400 million and production of approximately 200,000 oz per year, at life of mine AISC as low as approximately $650 per ounce. This project forms an exciting part of our longer term development strategy.”