Udokan Copper says it has completed the installation of a thyssenkrupp gyratory crusher at the coarse crushing plant at its namesake operation in the Far East of Russia.

The company is in the process of developing one of the largest copper deposits in the world into a mine, currently building a mining and metallurgical plant (MMP) where the coarse crushing plant is housed.

The thyssenkrupp crusher will process rougher ore fractions supplied from Zapadniy open pit, the company said.

German Mironov, CEO of Udokan Copper, said: “The crusher has the best operational capacity compared to other brands and can process up to 4,000 tonnes of copper ore per hour.”

All processing parameters of the coarse crushing plant are controlled and adjusted from the operator’s workplace, with real-time control a possibility, the company explained.

Once mining at the Udokan MMP starts, the ore will be transported to the coarse crushing plant by 130 t dump trucks. After the coarse crushing, the ore will go to storage areas and then to the beneficiation plant through the crushing and conveyor unit, which consists of two mainline conveyor belts with total length of 2.8 km.

Construction works are in full swing throughout the crushing and conveyor unit. The foundation and steel structures of Conveyor #1 gallery have been installed. Steel structures are also being installed for the transfer unit from Conveyor #1 to Conveyor #5.

Along the Conveyor #5 route, the foundation of the horizontal section has been installed and the conveyor is being assembled. The installation of steel structures for the Conveyor #5 tension station, ore storage, fine crushing plant and conveyor galleries between the ore storage and beneficiation plant is close to completion. The underground part of the ore storage infrastructure includes the installation of ore feeding conveyors from the ore storage area to the main building of the beneficiation plant.

Udokan Copper was established to develop Russia’s largest untapped deposit, Udokan. The deposit comes with resources of 26.7 Mt, according to JORC, with an average copper grade of 1.05%.

Udokan is located in the Zabaikalye Region in the Far East of Russia, 30 km away from the Baikal-Amur mainline.

The first stage of the Udokan plant should provide total output of 125,000 t/y of copper in cathodes and sulphide concentrate, its processing capacity being 12 Mt/y of ore. This is due to start up in 2022. The second stage, currently undergoing a feasibility study, implies processing 24 Mt/y.