Name of the Project
Amulsar gold project.

Location
Southern Armenia.

Client
Lydian Armenia, a subsidiary of Lydian International, which is 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 reach 1 300 workers later this year.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The project has a net present value at, a 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 Armernia has received a certificate of compliance from the International Cyanide Management Code (ICMC) for its Amulsar gold project.

The International Cyanide Management Institute (ICMI) administers the ICMC, which is a voluntary industry programme for companies involved in producing gold and/or silver using cyanide and companies producing and transporting cyanide.

The project is the first worldwide to receive pre-operational certification since revisions to the code were published in 2016 following amendments to the code and the introduction of more stringent auditor guidance protocols. The Amulsar project will be the first in Armenia to be certified and comply with the ICMC.

A detailed audit findings report, prepared by an independent professional third-party auditor, who evaluated the Amulsar gold mine against the ICMI's pre-operational verification protocol, was submitted to the ICMI in November 2017.

The Amulsar mine has been conditionally certified and must be audited within one year of its first receipt of cyanide to evaluate its operational compliance with the code. The Amulsar mine must be re-audited every three years thereafter to evaluate continuing compliance with the code.

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.