Kyzyltash
The Kyzyltash sulphide ore body represents the long term future for Chaarat in Kyrgyzstan and presents the Company with a clear avenue for organic growth.
The Kyzyltash deposit is composed of two ore bodies known as Contact and Main Zones and has been drill tested with more than 80,000 meters to date. Almost the entire mineralization in the Kyzyltash deposit is refractory.
Kyzyltash represents the next stage of development (Stage 2), after Tulkubash, which targets to deliver an additional 300,000 ounces Au per annum to the Company’s production through organic growth. This requires substantial capex investment and further feasibility studies.
The optimal mining scenario is still under consideration, although recent approaches consider the Main Zone to be developed as a pair of open pits and underground, while the Contact Zone, is planned to be mined by only underground methods. Recent metallurgical studies completed by SGS Lakefield confirm flotation as the initial step of the processing route and then concentrates to be processed by Albion TM, POX and BIOX prior CIL leaching. The best overall recovery of about 86% is achieved by the Flotation + BIOX + CIL processing route. Further economic trade-off study will allow to understand the economic impact of these strong results and confirm the preferred mining scenario and processing route.
Key facts
- Underground Mine type
- 300koz/pa Production
- 5,377koz/Au Resources
Resources Statement (Cut off grade 0.2(g/t))
| Classification | Tonnes (kt) | Grade (g/t Au) | Gold (Moz Au) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Measured | 6,722 | 3.26 | 0.7 |
| Indicated | 32,794 | 3.79 | 3.9 |
| Total Measured & Indicated | 39,516 | 3.70 | 4.5 |
| Inferred | 6,611 | 4.05 | 0.8 |
Kyzyltash is a series of sulphide-bearing ore bodies made up of the Main Zone and Contact Zone mineralization (see below). The mineralized zones occur within two subparallel northeast-trending structural zones that have been traced for 10km along strike. Surface and underground drilling has demonstrated vertical continuity in excess of 1.1km. Most of the orebodies have only been drilled to a depth of less than 200m below the surface and are open at depth and along strike.
The current Kyzyltash Resource of 5,377,000 ounces Au has been developed based on 80,000 meters of drilling along a strike length of 4km and favourable geology extends for over 20km of strike length. Further surface drilling is expected to extend strike length, while future underground drilling is likely to extend mineralization down dip. Given the size and grade of the resource as currently defined and the extent of favourable geology contiguous to it, a significantly larger resource is considered to be achievable.
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