| Company | Lydian International Limited |
| Date | 2015 |
| Region | Armenia |
| Commodities | Gold, Silver |
| Mine Type | Open Pit |
| Throughput | 30,000 tpd |
| Mine Life | 10 years |
| Annual Production | 10,500,000 tpy |
| Status | Development |
Executive Summary
This Value Engineering and Optimization Technical Report details the Amulsar Gold Project located in south-central Armenia. The project underwent significant design optimization to reduce capital expenditure without negatively impacting operating costs or incurring adverse environmental effects. The mining method is open pit, and the processing method is heap leaching with a Carbon-in-Column (CIC) circuit followed by Merrill-Crowe refining. The optimization resulted in reduced initial capital mining fleet, reduced comminution and conveying capital equipment, and refined haul roads.
The project is currently in the development phase with a planned construction completion in November 2016. It has a mine life of 10 years with an annual throughput of 30,000 tonnes per day. The ore is highly fractured and amenable to heap leaching at a crush size of 19 mm. Gold recoveries are predicted at approximately 87.1% to 87.5% depending on the deposit zone (Artavasdes, Tigranes, Erato). Silver recoveries are lower, ranging from 4.8% to 11.2%. The project economics show a strong IRR of 21.6% and NPV of $337.8 million at 5%.
Processing Profile
- Crushing: Primary Jaw Crusher, Secondary Cone Crushers (2)
- Milling: N/A
- Flotation: N/A
- Leaching: Heap Leach (19 mm crush size)
- Recovery: Carbon-in-Column (CIC), Adsorption-Desorption-Recovery (ADR), Merrill-Crowe (Zinc Precipitation)
Reports
Website: https://www.ebrd.com/home/what-we-do/projects/independent-project-accountability-mechanism/case-registry/lydian-amulsar-gold-mine-extension.html
Report Date: 2015
Region: Armenia
Project Status: Development
Commodity: Gold, Silver
Throughput: 30,000 tpd
Mine Life: 10 years
Mine Type: Open Pit
Ore type:
Technical report and processing history
The following archived source profiles have been consolidated here to preserve the project’s processing history and study context.
Amulsar Gold Project — 2013 Technical Report
Amulsar Gold Project — 2013 Technical Report
| Company | Lydian International Limited |
| Date | 2013 |
| Region | Armenia |
| Commodities | Gold, Silver |
| Mine Type | Open Pit |
| Throughput | 5 Mtpa (Phase 1), 10 Mtpa (Phase 2) |
| Mine Life | 12 years |
| Annual Production | 118,341 oz (Phase 1), 186,047 oz (Phase 2) |
| Status | Development |
Executive Summary
The Amulsar Gold Project, located in south-central Armenia, is a high-sulphidation epithermal gold-silver deposit owned by Lydian International Limited. A feasibility study completed in 2012 outlines a conventional open-pit mining operation with a planned mine life of 12 years. The project is currently in the development phase, with detailed engineering and construction planned to commence following the feasibility study completion. The operation targets an initial throughput of 5 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa), ramping up to 10 Mtpa in Year 4, with steady-state annual gold production ranging from 118,341 oz to 186,047 oz depending on the phase.
Processing involves a three-stage crushing circuit reducing ore to 80% passing 12 mm, followed by transport via overland conveyor to a heap leach facility. The heap leach pad is designed in three phases with a capacity of 95 Mt of ore. Gold recovery is achieved through cyanide leaching followed by an Adsorption-Desorption-Regeneration (ADR) plant using carbon columns, electrowinning, and smelting to produce doré bars. The project demonstrates strong economics with a pre-tax IRR of 27.7% and a net present value of US$646 million at a 5% discount rate, based on a gold price of US$1,200/oz.
Processing Profile
Reports
Website: https://www.ebrd.com/home/what-we-do/projects/independent-project-accountability-mechanism/case-registry/lydian-amulsar-gold-mine-extension.html
Report Date: 2013
Region: Armenia
Project Status: Development
Commodity: Gold, Silver
Throughput: 5 Mtpa (Phase 1), 10 Mtpa (Phase 2)
Mine Life: 12 years
Mine Type: Open Pit
Ore type:
