JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Precious metals miner Polymetal has secured a $140-million loan to finance the remaining capital expenditure for its Kyzyl project, paving the way for operations at the 300 000 oz/y Kazakhstan gold mine to start in the third quarter of 2018.
The loan agreement with the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has a five-year tenor and will mature in December 2022.
As part of the deal, Polymetal would adopt EBRD’s best practices on environmental and social issues for the development and subsequent operation of Kyzyl, the miner’s CEO, Vitaly Nesis, reported on Thursday.
The project, considered to be Polymetal’s main medium-term growth development, is being built in an area already partly disturbed by historic mining activities.
Kyzyl is being developed in two phases, the first of which is an openpit mine, which will operate for ten years. Openpit mining started in May 2016. The first ten years will produce 1.8-million tonnes a year of ore, which will be processed by sulphide flotation followed by concentrate offtake and/or pressure oxidation.
Phase 1 will be followed by an underground development phase for a further 13 years. The EBRD's financing relates to Phase 1, but the environmental and social impact assessment that considers both phases has been undertaken.
Kyzyl will employ about 600 people during Phase 1 and over 1 000 during Phase 2, the EBRD stated.
Kyzyl has estimated Joint Ore Reserves Committee-compliant reserves of 7.3-million ounces of gold at an average grade of 7.7 g/t.