11 Mar 2015 18:26

Russia boosts gold production 13.8% in 2014

MOSCOW. March 11 (Interfax) - Russia produced 290.034 tonnes of gold in 2014, 13.8% more than in 2013, the Gold Producers' Union said.

Production of ingots from mined gold grew 7.7% to 232.186 tonnes, from byproduct gold - 1.5% to 16.24 tonnes and from secondary gold - 101% to 35.812 tonnes.

Production of gold concentrates with subsequent export grew 7.2% to 5.796 tonnes.

The Union said at the end of last year that it thought Russia would produce 275-280 tonnes of gold in total.

Russian gold production in ingots and concentrates in 2014 (kg):

2014 2013 Change, kg Change, %
Gold ingots production 284 238 249 435 + 34 803 + 14%
Mined gold 232 186 215 666 + 16 520 + 7,7%
Incidental 16 240 16 005 + 235 + 1,5%
Secondary 35 812 17 764 + 18 048 + 101%
Gold concentrate production 5 796 5 404 + 392 + 7,2%
- Novoshirokinsky Mine, Highland Gold, Trans-Baikal territory 1 747 1 439 + 308 + 21,4%
Albazino Mine, Polymetal Int, Khabarovsk territory* - 2 460 - -
Maisky Mine, Polymetal Int, Chukotka 4 049 1 505 + 2 544 + 169%
Total 290 034 254 839 + 35 195 + 13,8%

* - Concentrate from OJSC Polymetal's Albazino recovery plant was processed at the Amursk POX facility into Dore gold in 2014

Gold production growth in 2014 was driven mainly by the expansion of Polymetal's Olomon hub operations Maiskoye and Albazino; Polyus Gold's Verninsky recovery plant; Petropavlovsk's Albyn and Malomyr mines; Kinross Gold's Kupol and Dvoinoye mines; Nordgold's Berezitovoye mine; Highland Gold's Belaya Gora and others; and by higher recoveries from ore processed by Polyus Gold's Olimpiada, Verninskaya and Kuranakh plants, and Polymetal's Omskchan, Lunnaya and Mayskaya plants.

Secondary gold production doubled due to the processing of jewelry scrap waste at the Krastsvetmet refinery and Yekaterinburg Nonferrous Metals Processing Plant.

Gold production grew significantly in the Chutkota, Amur and Magadan regions, Yakutia and Buryatia and the Khabarovsk and Kamchatka territory.

Gold mine production by region (kg):

2014 2013 Change
Krasnoyarsk Territory 47 188 47 326 - 0,3%
Amur Region 31 356 30 664 + 2,2%
Chukotka Autonomous District* 30 377 21 361 + 42%
Magadan Region 24 137 21 092 + 14%
Yakutia 23 139 21 951 + 5,4%
Khabarovsk Territory* 21 282 20 416 + 4,2%
Irkutsk Region 20 558 20 595 - 0,2%
Trans-Baikal Territory* 9 816 9 452 + 3,8%
Sverdlovsk Region 7 863 7 604 + 3,4%
Buryatia 6 857 5 944 + 15%
Chelyabinsk Region 5 573 5 300 + 5,2%
Kamchatka Territory 2 984 2 214 + 35%
Khakasia 2 036 2 199 - 7,4%
Tuva 1 936 1 847 + 4,8%
Kemerovo Region 925 8 9 + 13%
Altai Territory 715 971 - 26%
Novosibirsk Region 400 296 + 35%
Altai Republic 384 425 - 10%
Bashkortostan 177 204 - 13%
Primorye 129 160 - 19%
Sakhalin Region 93 104 - 11%
Khanty Mansiysk Autonomous District 85 88 - 3%
Perm Territory 12 13 - 8%
Jewish Autonomous Region 26
Total 238 022 221 071 + 7,7%

* - * Including production of gold concentrates