Consortium will develop Vasilkovskoye

A licence has been issued to a 3-company consortium selected by the government of Kazakhstan to explore and develop the Vasilkovskoye gold deposit.

The deal, subject to completion of contract documentation, is expected to be wrapped up in late August.

The huge deposit hosts minable reserves of 100 million tonnes grading 2.4 grams gold per tonne.

Under the agreement, the Kazakhstani government will be a 20% partner in the project. Teck (TEK-T) will hold half of the remaining 80% interest, with the remainder split equally between partners First Dynasty Mines (FDM-T) and Bakyrchik Gold (BKG-L).

The consortium plans to develop an open-pit mine that would produce 15,000-20,000 tonnes per day, yielding up to 500,000 oz. gold annually.

Construction is expected to start in late 1997, with production to follow in 1999.