The Carbon-in-Leach Plant in Dashkesan was Commissioned in Test Mode

AzerGold Closed Joint Stock Company’s (CJSC) Carbon-in-Leach Plant has started operating in test mode in the Chovdar Integrated Regional Processing Area (CIRPA) located in the Dashkasan region.

On December 28, Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources Mukhtar Babayev, Head of the State Service for Property Issues under the Ministry of Economy, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of AzerGold CJSC Matin Eynullayev, Deputy Minister of Economy Samad Bashirli, Chairman of the Board of AzerGold JSC Zakir Ibrahimov, as well as representatives of the Ministries of Ecology and Natural Resources and Economy and local executive power examined the enterprise.

The event participants have been familiarized with the activity of the plant that will process precious metal ores by the Carbon in Leach (CIL) technology, as well as the production and wet waste management processes at the Chovdar mine.

Detailed information was provided on the construction and installation, the applied technology, and production capabilities of AzerGold CJSC’s plant built to further improve the feasibility of processing precious metal ores extracted from the gold mines located in the Dashkasan and Goygol regions. It was noted that since 2017, AzerGold CJSC, which has started active mining in the Chovdar gold mine, has also been performing extensive geological exploration to increase the resources of this deposit. As a result, we managed to increase the gold mine reserves, discover the Aghyokhush group of gold deposits and the Marah gold deposit in the flanks, extensively study the Tulallar gold deposit discovered during the USSR, and put these deposits into operation. Thereby, along with oxide ores, the gold reserves salable due to transit and sulfide ores discovered in the Chovdar mine have been increased from 179,000 to 609,000 Oz, and the mine operational period has been extended until 2029. Due to the flank mines, the total gold reserve has reached 778 thousand Oz.

It was reported that in 2020, CIRPA was arranged based on the Chovdar Ore Processing Area to centrally use the available material and technical resources in processing precious metal ores extracted from the Chovdar and flank deposits. The new plant built in the regional processing site with a total area of 502 ha is aimed at processing Sulfide phase ores – the most complex extraction and production process with higher operating costs – in the Chovdar and flank mines using an optimal technique. Thus, the operation of the plant with an annual ore grinding potential of 1.1 mln tons will ensure up to 90% yield of gold, depending on the ore's mineralogical composition and metallurgical properties. To ensure maximum efficiency of gold mines in the Oxide phase, the Heap Leach Pad (HLP) technology is applied.

During the familiarization visit, it was stated that the Carbon in Leach technology applied in the CIRPA was based on the process design developed by the internationally renowned UK’s Micon International Co Limited. The plant, equipped with modern equipment manufactured in Germany, Sweden, Switzerland, Canada, and Turkey, built with the participation of Turkish Magro Construction as the major contractor, along with the construction and installation of the wet waste storage, the technical water pipeline from the Goshgarchay river, and other auxiliary infrastructure facilities, was brought to full readiness within 22 months in total.

In the course of implementing the project, all safety norms were strictly met according to the requirements of local and international laws. Compliance of production under the project with the highest environmental norms and standards has been fully ensured according to the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment document approved by the State Ecological Expertise Agency of the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources. The plant has an appropriate occupational health and safety management system.

It should be noted that AZN 236 mln funds required for the construction of the Carbon-in-Leach Plant were provided by AzerGold CJSC from internal resources without an additional burden on the state budget. With the implementation of the project, which is considered an additional contribution to the increase of economic activity and employment of the population in the regions, 101 more permanent jobs were created in the CIRPA. Thus, considering the direct and indirect effect of the Chovdar project, the number of employed citizens in the region has reached 1,600. The start of the new plant operation at full capacity will not only positively affect the regional socioeconomic development but also contribute to the sustainable development of the country's economy, especially the non-oil and gas sector, by expanding the export potential of precious metals.

AZƏRGOLD