Key Facts
| Ownership | 100% |
| Operating Company | Bazoviye Metally CJSC |
| Location | Chukotka region, Russia |
| Mining (projected) | Оpen pit and underground |
| Processing (projected) | Gravity + Cyanide Leaching |
| Processing Capacity (projected) | 0.8 mtpa |
| Gold Production (est. annual) | 172,000 oz |
| Reserve Grade | 8.7 g/t |
Overview
Kekura is Highland Gold’s premier development project, with commercial production expected to begin in 2023.
In April 2013, Highland acquired 100% of Bazovye Metally CJSC, which held the mining and exploration rights to the Kekura gold deposit and surrounding license area. This gold deposit and surrounding 1,497 square kilometres license area is located in the Chukotka region, approximately 120 km due south of Bilibino and 250 km east of the Company’s Klen development project.
Kekura hosts a large JORC compliant resource base of 2.45 Moz with an average grade of 8.1 g/t Au. When production commences, output indicators envisage ca. 800,000 tonnes of ore feed per annum which, with anticipated recovery levels of 90%, would result in an annual production averaging 170,000 ounces of gold over the first eight years of production.
Geology
Kekura is an intrusion related gold deposit situated within the Lower Cretaceous multi-phase granitoid Gvardeisky magmatic complex intruded in an island arc setting in central Chukotka. Gold mineralisation is commonly associated with gently dipping tabular zones of quartz veinlets within berezite-altered sections of the granodiorite of the Kekura Mountain intrusive massif. Gold is largely free and the ore carries only minor amount of sulphides, predominantly arsenopyrite. Gold grades commonly range from a few grams per tonne to several hundred grams per tonne.
The license area hosts several gold mineralised prospects in immediate vicinity of the Kekura deposit which are subject to further exploration and provide additional upside potential for the Kekura operation.
Ore Reserves of the Kekura Deposit
In accordance with the JORC Code (2012) as of 01 January 2018
| Category |
Tonnage (Mt) |
Grade (g/t) |
Metal (t) |
Metal (moz) |
|
| Proven |
Open Pit | 0.65 | 9.24 | 6.0 | 0.193 |
| Underground | - | - | - | - | |
| Total | 0.65 | 9.24 | 6.0 | 0.193 | |
| Probable |
Open Pit | 5.10 | 7.82 | 39.9 | 1.282 |
| Underground | 3.13 | 5.31 | 16.6 | 0.534 | |
| Total | 8.23 | 6.86 | 56.5 | 1.815 | |
| Total | 8.88 | 7.03 | 62.5 | 2.008 |
Cut-off grade of 1.6 g/t Au is applied to the open pit and 2.0 g/t for vertical zones and 3.0 g/t for horizontal zones Au at the underground mine.