Name of the Project
Amulsar gold project.

Location
Southern Armenia.

Client
Lydian International, a wholly owned subsidiary of Geoteam CJSC.

Project Description
Studies on the Amulsar project have demonstrated a compelling opportunity for the development of a large-scale, low-cost operation using openpit mining and conventional heap-leach processing.

The project comprises Site 27 – the preferred location for the barren rock storage facility, and Site 28 – the preferred location for the heap-leach facility.

The deposit will be developed through openpit mining using a 10 m bench height, 22 m2 front shovels and 180 t haul trucks with a capacity to carry 190 t of material.

A production rate of 30 000 t/d over 350 days a year has been the basis for planning. The estimated mine life is less than ten years; however, the model contains a significant portion of inferred material, and drilling has identified additional mineralisation that has not been quantified by detailed drilling below the pits. Over the first five years of production, lower-grade material above the cutoff grade (greater or equal to 0.24 g/t gold and below 0.30 g/t gold) will be stockpiled.

The processing facility will comprise two‐stage crushing, screening and overland conveying to the fine-ore stockpile and truck loadout bin. From there, the 19 mm crushed ore will be transported by trucks to the leach pad for heap leaching.

Pregnant leach solution from the heap will be treated in a carbon‐in‐column circuit. Gold will be recovered by an adsorption‐desorption‐recovery (ADR) circuit where the final product will be doré.

Jobs To be Created
Employment is expected to top 1 300 workers later this year.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The project has a net present value at an 5% discount rate, of $386.2-million and an internal rate of return of 24.5% at a gold price of $1 150/oz,  with a payback of 2.6 years.

Value
Total preproduction capital costs have been estimated at $369.88-million.

Duration
First production from the mine is expected by mid-2018.

Latest Developments
Lydian has received the first advance of $25-million under its term loan with Orion and Resource Capital Fund for ongoing construction of its Amulsar gold project.

To accommodate an expected ramp-up period, the commercial production date set out in the term loan was extended by three months to September 30, 2018.

Lydian continues to expect first gold production by mid-2018.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
None stated.

On Budget and on Time?
Not stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
Lydian International, tel +44 1534 747 890 or email moreinfo@lydianinternational.co.uk.