China's TBEA commissions second stage of gold ore project in Tajikistan

DUSHANBE. Sept 12 (Interfax) - TBEA Dushanbe Mining Industry LLC (part of the Chinese corporation TBEA) has commissioned the second stage of a project for extracting and processing gold-bearing ore in the Sughd region of Tajikistan, the region's executive state authority said.

The launch of the new stage took place in July. The facility is built on an area of 6,500 square meters, and its production capacity allows for the processing of up to 4,500 tonnes of raw material per day.

As part of the same project, TBEA Dushanbe Mining Industry commissioned a gold and silver refining plant in 2022. The plant's capacity at that time was 4 tonnes of gold and 1 tonne of silver per year. Investment in the project amounted to $4 million.

The ore concentrate used at the plant is produced from raw materials from the Kumargi Bolo and Duobai Sharqi deposits. The first is located at an altitude of around 4,000 meters, and the second at an altitude of 2,300 meters above sea level. The type of raw material extraction is open-pit at the Kumargi Bolo deposit and underground at the Duobai Sharqi deposit. The total reserves of the Kumargi Bolo deposit are 51 tonnes of gold, and at Duobai Sharqi - 23.7 tonnes. The development of the deposits is also carried out by TBEA Dushanbe Mining Industry.

As of 2022, the Kumargi Bolo mining and processing plant had the capacity to extract and process 3,000 tonnes of raw material per day. The planned production capacity of the facility at Duobai Sharqi was set at 3,000 tonnes of raw material per day.

The cost of the Kumargi Bolo project was estimated at $180 million in 2022.