Turkish company to build ore processing plant at Chovdar deposit

Gold volumes of 470,000 ounces have been confirmed at the Chovdar gold deposit in addition to gold reserves of 212,000 ounces that can be sold, Zakir Ibrahimov, Chairman of the Board of AzerGold Joint-Stock Company, said at a press conference dedicated to the results of 2021 and upcoming tasks, Report informs.

According to him, thus, the total volume of gold at the Chovdar deposit has been increased to 682,000 ounces.

"In order to organize the processing of the indicated volumes of ore, with the participation of an international consulting company, studies were carried out to select a processing methodology that would ensure maximum efficiency, and the most optimal method was chosen, that’s - reservoir leaching (CIL leaching).

Ibrahimov noted that in order to organize production in accordance with this method, an international consulting company carried out preliminary design work.

“The South Korean consulting company Heerim Architects & Planners Co. was engaged to select a contractor for the project, manage the construction project and control quality. In accordance with the procurement procedures, within the framework of the construction of the plant and related infrastructure, a contract was signed with the Turkish company Magro Construction.”

The company's board chairman noted that at the plant, which will be put into operation late in 2022 - early 2023, it is planned to process ores that will be mined as part of the sulfide phase of the development of the Chovdar deposit, the Marah, Agyoxush 2, Tulallar, as well as ores that will be extracted from the potential gold deposit Narimanli, discovered last year by the company's geologists as a result of exploration work. Currently, rock samples taken from the Narimanli field are being analyzed in an international laboratory. Based on the results of the analysis, it is planned to carry out work on the calculation of resources, as well as complete the production plan in 2023.