Russia’s Transbaikal Territory is preparing to launch another major gold mining project. Mangazeya Mining has received positive approvals for the Itaka gold deposit from both Glavgosexpertiza (the State Expert Review Authority) and Rosprirodnadzor (the Federal Service for Supervision of Natural Resources). With the regulatory process complete, full-scale construction is set to begin.
The engineering package was developed by RAM Engineering, part of the Rock And Mill Group. The first phase of the project has been carefully planned. Mining operations will target two categories of ore. The first consists of 2.37 million tonnes of free-milling ore, expected to yield 4.63 tonnes of gold and 10.08 tonnes of silver. The second includes 726,000 tonnes of refractory ore, projected to produce an additional 1.3 tonnes of gold and 5.93 tonnes of silver.
Open-pit mining will take place at two deposits—Surmyanaya Gorka and Maleyevsky. Different processing routes have been designed for each ore type. The refractory ore will be treated at a new gravity-flotation processing plant that is yet to be constructed, while the cyanide-leachable ore will be processed at the existing Nasedkino Gold Processing Plant.
Notably, the company did not wait for the full regulatory package before starting work. A pilot production phase began in late 2024, and ore has been processed continuously at the Nasedkino facility ever since. Commercial production is expected to begin by 2028.
Mangazeya Mining plans to invest approximately $250 million directly in the Itaka project. In addition, RUB 7.5 billion has already been invested in upgrading the flagship Nasedkino processing plant, which will handle roughly half of the ore produced from the new deposit.
The Itaka project is now moving from the development stage to industrial implementation. By combining two different processing routes, the company aims to maximize metal recovery from both free-milling and refractory ores, while existing infrastructure at Nasedkino and early mining activities significantly shorten the timeline to first gold production.
Source: @nedradvnews
Image: Mangazeya Mining
