Namely, the Ministry of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure put the working version of the spatial plan of the area of special purpose for the exploitation of gold in the exploration area Potaj čuka-Tisnica on early public inspection.
The plan, prepared by the Institute of Architecture and Urbanism of Serbia, was ordered by the company Avala Resources doo Belgrade, which operates as part of the Canadian company Dundee Precious Metals from Toronto, writes Ekapija.
The gold deposits of the future mine “Potaj chuka-Tisnica” are located in the southeastern part of the municipality of Zagubica, and the exploration area also includes the southwestern part of the municipality of Majdanpek, it is stated in the plan.
Specifically, the spatial plan includes parts of the cadastral municipalities of Žagubica (Laznica selo, Laznica Selište and Žagubica, and in Majdanpek Jasikovo and Leskovo). The total area covered by the plan is about 292 square kilometers.
The operation of the deposit will last for seven years. It is envisaged that the gold ore will be exploited through surface mines, and the processing of oxide ore, in order to obtain gold, will be done by the leaching method.
After the expiration of the seven-year period of exploitation, the mine will be closed for a year and recultivated.
The mine complex will include, in addition to mines and pile leaching plants, crushing and agglomeration plants, ADR plant, mine tailings dumps, internal and public infrastructure and other ancillary facilities.
As it is reminded in the plan, Avala Resources has an approval for geological research in the exploration area Potaj čuka – Tisnica, based on when extensive geological research of this area was performed in the period from 2010 to 2017.
It is estimated that there are 19.2 Mt (megatons) of probable reserves with an average gold content of 1.07 g / t.
Based on the results of the research, the planned production of the Canadian company is processing 2.5 megatons per year, with an average gold content of 1.07 g / t and a total gold yield of 84.9% for oxide and 71.8% for the transition type of ore.
The ore processing will be realized in two phases: 9.9 Mt in phase 1, and 9.3 Mt in phase 2, which makes a total of 19.2 Mt of processed ore during the life of the mine of seven years.
The plan also states that the leaching process involves the formation of a gold-cyanide complex and the use of activated carbon to bind the gold complex.
“According to available sources, the use of cyanide in gold extraction and processing in ore extraction is the most commonly used method in European mines. Gold mine facilities using cyanide leaching methods located near or relatively close to residential areas across Europe are, e.g. Faboliden in Sweden, Pahtavaara in Finland, Omagh in Ireland, then the Balkans and mines in Turkey Globally, the use of cyanide in the precious metals industry is used in 400 processing plants in the world, most of which are high-tech mines and are located “for the most part in advanced countries such as the United States, Sweden, Finland, Australia and Canada”, the plan said.
It is added that modern technology uses cyanide for the production of precious metals exclusively in a closed system, and that the entire extraction process is continuously and completely digitally monitored.
“The EU considers this production process to be the best available technique, with very strict standards for the production circuit and leaching plants,” the document reads.
When it comes to tailings dumps, it was pointed out that current works on testing the acidity of tailings show that for less than 10% of the sampled material there is a probability of acid formation.
“Acid-forming tailings require a coated substrate, and water runoff requires chemical treatment before being released into the environment. The tailings dump on Bigar Hill will be arranged to accommodate up to 7 megatons of acid-forming tailings. The Bigar Hill plant is. may expand to possibly serve a sulphide-type ore processing plant in the future, which is not relevant at this stage of mine development. uncoated plants, ”the draft spatial plan says.
By the way, in May, the Ministry made a decision that a Strategic Environmental Assessment will be done for the spatial plan of the area for special purpose of gold exploitation in the exploration area Potaj Čuka – Tisnica.
It is also stated that the exploitation and processing of ore reserves from the Potaj Chuka-Tisnica deposit is of interest for the overall development of Serbia, and especially for the areas of Zagubica and Majdanpek.
The location of the future mine can be reached by regional asphalt roads between Bor, Žagubica, Krepoljina and Zlot. This area is connected with Bor to Zajecar and Paracin, and via Zagubica with Pozarevac (and with Belgrade).
According to earlier announcements, the initial investment in this mine would amount to 136 million dollars.
Source: b92.net
