Definitive Feasibility Study on Front End Engineering Design

The Challenge / The Scope:

Micon was engaged by AzerGold CJSCo to conduct a DFS on the Front End Engineering Design (FEED) of the Chovdar Integrated Gold Project, Azerbaijan. Micon’s scope consisted of providing technical support during drilling and metallurgical testwork, performing an independent Mineral Resource and Ore Reserve estimates in accordance with the JORC (2012) Code and undertaking the FEED and cost estimation.

The main challenge of the Chovdar Integrated Project was the complexity of integrating various ore types from different deposits and the construction of new infrastructure. Specifically, the project had to account for transitional sulphide and oxide ores from the Chovdar deposit and multiple surrounding satellite deposits, and the integration of a new processing plant, tailings management facility and associated infrastructure.

The core business objective was for the project to be able to produce a combined total of 60,000 oz of gold per annum.

Micon’s Approach:

Micon conducted Mineral Resource Estimates for Chovdar and its surrounding satellite pits to determine what could be considered to have reasonable prospects for eventual economic extraction (RPEEE), in accordance with JORC (2012).

Detailed pit optimisation was completed for all deposits which exhibited RPEEE, and final pit and pushback designs were generated. The financial and operating conditions inputs were based on current production data and detailed engineering estimates. Micon defined a LOM plan which fulfilled Azergold’s objective of 60,000 oz of gold per annum.

In terms of metallurgical processing, Micon conducted various tests to determine the most effective treatment options for different ore types, including heap leach, conventional CIL (Carbon-In-Leach), flotation, and BIOX® process. For the comminution process, several flowsheets were examined, including various crushing and milling configurations, to optimize the plant's efficiency.

The design of the process plant itself considered factors such as equipment grouping, maintenance access, gravity flow, and material flow, all aimed at maximizing operational efficiency and minimizing costs.

Results:

Micon declared Indicated and Inferred Mineral Resources and Probable Reserves for the deposits which make up the Chovdar Integrated Project. Indicated Mineral Resources totaled 37.1 Mt and contained 1,365 koz gold. Inferred Mineral Resource totaled 9.9 Mt and contained 324 koz gold. Probable Reserves totaled 11.53 Mt at a gold grade of 1.60 g/t Au. In addition to the ore, the pit contains 37.13 Mt of waste resulting in a strip ratio of 3.22 waste tonnes per tonne of ore.

An 8-year strategic LOM plan was defined to exploit the Chovdar deposit and its Satellite deposits. The total gold ounces estimated to be produced over the LOM from the Integrated Project is 452,000 ounces (187 koz from heap leaching and 264 koz from CIL).

The DFS and FEED determined that the preferred process to recover gold from low-grade oxide material is through standard heap leaching and to treat high-grade oxide, transitional and sulphide ore using conventional CIL. Furthermore, the DFS concluded that the optimum gold extraction and economical return is achieved when the gold and sulphur contents are used to classify the ore from the various deposits for extraction through heap leaching or CIL.