Key Facts
| Ownership | 100% |
| Operating Company | Mnogovershinnoye CJSC |
| Location | Khabarovsk region, Russia |
| Start Date | 1991 (HGM 1999) |
| Life of Mine | 2029 |
| Mining | Open pit and underground |
| Processing | Gravity + Cyanide Leaching |
| Ore Processing Capacity | 1.4 mtpa |
| Total Cash Costs (2019) | US$ 565/oz |
Overview
MNV is located in the Nikolaevsk area of the Khabarovsk Territory in the far-east of the Russian Federation. The site is about 650 km north of the city of Khabarovsk and 132 km from Nikolaevsk-na-Amure, the principal regional centre.
The MNV deposit was discovered in 1959 and detailed exploration commenced in 1963. Preliminary construction started in 1979, with mineral processing facilities built between 1990 and 1993. Production began in 1991, but the mine closed in 1997 due to poor technical and financial performance and a lack of funds for reconstruction and development. It was acquired and restarted by the founders of Highland Gold in 1999.
Operations at MNV consist of both underground and open-pit mining of several high-quality gold deposits. Highland Gold’s Mnogovershinnoye CJSC subsidiary holds licences for the central MNV area, the Northwestern Flank, the Western Flank, the Lower Horizons of the central licence, and two neighboring greenfield areas - Kulibinskaya and Zamanchivaya.
Since 2016, in order to extend MNV's life of mine by identifying additional resources to feed the processing plant, the Company has been carrying out an extensive near-mine exploration programme as well as a reassessment of each of the mines existing 12 ore deposits and its historic rock dumps. These efforts are ongoing, but they have already resulted in a doubling of JORC-compliant reserve estimates and an extension of mine life to 2029.
Operations
Mining at Mnogovershinnoye is done by both open pit and underground methods. The mining method currently in use underground is long-hole sub-level caving with an interval of 14 m between sub-levels.
Pre-blended ore is delivered to the processing plant feed hopper by trucks, which either direct tip or stockpile for subsequent feeding via the front-end loader.
Production Statistics
| MNV | Unit | 2019 | 2018 |
| Waste stripping | t | 7,201,954 | 4,255,199 |
| Underground development | m | 11,694 | 11,783 |
| Open-pit ore mined | t | 236,355 | 426,986 |
| Open-pit ore grade | g/t | 2.30 | 2.42 |
| Underground ore mined | t | 814,391 | 810,806 |
| Underground ore grade | g/t | 3.95 | 3.31 |
| Ore processed | t | 1,391,859 | 1,310,393 |
| Average grade processed | g/t | 3.00 | 2.92 |
| Recovery rate | % | 92.0 | 92.3 |
| Gold produced | oz | 123,814 | 112,608 |
Geology
The Mnogovershinnoye (MNV) gold deposit is located at the junction of the Amgun synclinorium and the East Sikhote-Alin volcanic belt. The area is characterised by numerous subvertical faults which control location and orientation of the volcanics, intrusives and gold and silver mineralisation. The mineralisation occurs over an area of some 120 km2.
The majority (92-96%) of the gold occurs in a free form amenable to standard cyanidation leaching. Minor amounts also occur as fine inclusions in quartz, other rock-forming minerals and sulphides. Visible gold is uncommon and cyanide leaching test work confirms that the gold is non-refractory, with extraction levels of over 90% being achievable at standard grind parameters.