Petropavlovsk PLC (LON:POG) has today announced the technical launch of the Pioneer flotation plant, the Company’s second facility for processing refractory gold ore and producing flotation concentrate.
Mr Denis Alexandrov, Petropavlovsk CEO said: “The successful launch of the Pioneer flotation plant represents a key strategic milestone for the Company. We are pleased to have commissioned the facility slightly ahead of the mid-year target we set when I joined the Company last year. The new plant will enable Petropavlovsk to take full advantage of Pioneer’s substantial refractory ore reserves while providing an additional source of own-mined concentrate for our state-of-the-art POX Hub.”
New Own-Mined Concentrate Supplier for the POX Hub
- The new Pioneer flotation plant has the capacity to process 3.6Mtpa of refractory gold ore. Once fully operational, the plant is expected to deliver more than 100ktpa of refractory gold concentrate for treatment at the Company’s Pressure Oxidation (“POX”) Hub
- Pioneer flotation doubles the Group’s capacity to process refractory gold ore which, including the existing Malomir flotation plant, now stands at 7.2Mtpa
- The plant is expected to become fully operational by July and to produce c.60kt of concentrate in 2021
- The construction of a third line at the Malomir flotation plant remains on track and will add an additional 1.8Mtpa of flotation capacity from Q3 2022, bringing the total combined Group capacity to 9.0Mtpa
- The launch of Pioneer flotation and expansion at Malomir will reduce the reliance of the POX Hub on treating lower-margin 3rd-party concentrates
Petropavlovsk PLC is a major integrated Russian gold producer with JORC Resources of 19.50Moz Au which include Reserves of 7.16Moz Au. Following its IPO on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) in 2002, Petropavlovsk was promoted to the London Stock Exchange in 2009, where today it is a Premium Listed company and a constituent of the FTSE 250, FTSE 350 and FTSE All Share indices. The Company’s shares also trade on the Moscow Exchange and are a constituent of the RTS Index and MOEX Russia Index.
The Company’s key operating mines (Pioneer, Malomir and Albyn) and its Pressure Oxidation (“POX”) Hub at Pokrovskiy are located in the Amur Region in the Russian Far East. Petropavlovsk has produced a total of c.8.3Moz of gold since operations began in 1994 and has a strong track record of mine development, expansion, and asset optimisation.
Petropavlovsk is one of the region’s largest employers and one of the largest contributors to the sustainable development of the local economy.
