Georgian Mining Corp (LON:GEO) has today announced the appointment of Mr. Mikhail Leskov, a process engineer and metallurgist with more than 35 years’ experience, as a senior adviser to assist the Company in the development and commencement of gold and copper production at the Kvemo Bolnisi East Project (‘KB’ or the ‘Project’). Mr Leskov will work closely with the Company’s JV partner, the owner of two adjacent producing gold and copper mines and processing facilities at Madneuli and Sakdrisi.
Mr Leskov has held board and senior management positions at a number of leading mining companies in Russia, including GV Gold, Atomredmetzoloto (ARMZ), Russian Platinum, and Severstal. During his career he has been involved in approximately 700 projects at various stages of development and covering a wide array of minerals, including copper and gold, across Russia, CIS, Canada, USA, Africa, Asia and Australia. His responsibilities have included the management of scoping studies, metallurgical work for the production of Ni, Cu, Zn, Pb, Co, Ag, Au, Pt, Pd and other metal and non-metal mineral commodities, and the re-engineering of development processes to optimise efficiencies and maximise production.
Mr Leskov was founder and chairman of NBL Gold – later registered as NBL International (UK), one of the first and the largest engineering consulting groups in post-Soviet Russia. Prior to founding NBL, he held various positions over a period of ten years at the Ginalmazzoloto State Soviet Institute of Precious Metals and Diamonds, a scientific and research institution focused on the processing and refining of precious metals, including gold, silver and platinum. Mr Leskov is currently also a Director of Mining and Metals at American Appraisal Russia.
Mr Leskov was a member of the Board of the Union of Gold Producers of Russia, a non-commercial organisation founded in 1995 to assist in the development of the gold mining and precious metals industry in Russia.
Mr Leskov graduated as a mineral processing engineer from the Moscow Institute of Steel and Alloys, specialising in Engineering and Design for Mineral Processing/Beneficiation Plants. He has been a member of the Association of Mining Analysts (UK) since 2004 and the Russian Society of Experts for Sub-soil Use/OERN (NAEN) since 2013.
Georgian Mining Corp Managing Director Greg Kuenzel said, “The addition of Mr Leskov’s proven expertise in metallurgy, along with his considerable experience in processing plant design, costing, implementation and management will be of huge benefit to the Company as we continue to advance our development programme at KB. Having proven up initial Mineral Resources for both gold and copper at KB our focus now turns to finalising the intial production agreement with our JV partner as well as continuing with our phased resource development targets.”
