Trans-Siberian Gold plc (TSG.LN), a low cost, high grade gold producer in Russia, is pleased to announce that the Federal Agency for Subsoil Use (Rosnedra) has issued a licence to ZAO Trevozhnoye Zarevo (TZ), TSG's wholly owned subsidiary, for the development and exploration of the Rodnikova deposit, one of the largest gold fields in South Kamchatka, for a tenure of 20 years.
Highlights:
20 year licence awardedLocated in close proximity (50km) to the company's operating Asacha gold mineGKZ Russian classified resource of 1Moz gold at 5.3 g/t and 8.3Moz silver at 44.6 g/tHigh-grade gold-silver deposit is one of the largest gold fields in South KamchatkaRodnikova is a high-grade gold and silver epithermal deposit located in close proximity to the company's operating Asacha gold mine. In accordance with the mineral resources report approved by the Russian State Commission for Reserves (GKZ), the Rodnikova deposit is estimated to contain 1Moz of gold with an average grade of 5.3 g/t.
The company is currently devising its exploration fieldwork programme to assess the full potential of the Rodnikova deposit and options to potentially initiate early stage production.
Taking into consideration the fact that the Asacha and Rodnikova deposits are believed to have similar geology, mineralogy and metallurgy, the company will determine the suitability of utilising the existing processing techniques and plant at Asacha for the ore at Rodnikova.
Alexander Dorogov, chief executive officer of TSG, commented: "I am pleased to announce that following the successful bid for the Rodnikova licence, TSG is no longer a single asset miner. We believe that Rodnikova is a complementary asset which perfectly fits the TSG portfolio of epithermal deposits as well as our strategy of becoming a premier mid-tier gold producer and developer.
"We see potential geographic and operational synergies, as Rodnikova is located at the heart of our operations in South Kamchatka, just 50km from the Asacha gold mine. TSG is ideally placed to develop the asset, as Rodnikova and Asacha have similar types of mineralisation and TSG's highly experienced management team has a deep understanding of the region and significant expertise of successfully bringing epithermal deposits into production."