Badran

Badran is a mature underground gold mine operating since 1984. It is located in Oymyakonsky region of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia).

The deposit is a gold bearing quartz veined and veinlet-disseminated zone hosted in a tectonical overthrust structure, along a strike length of over 5km, and down-dip to over 1,200m. High grade ore is located in a few ore shoots. Ore is mined by underground method; mining is continuous all year round. The mine incorporates 3 stoping mining methods: Room and Pillar, Longwall and Ice Fill.

The Badran processing facility, which also operates all year round, receives ore from the underground operations. The processing method is gravity-flotation. Resulting products: Dore gold and combined flotation-gravity concentrate. In addition, it also retreats gravity tailings from previously processed ore.

Due to a recognition of the reserves additionally explored in 2013-16, the mine and the processing facility underwent reconstruction. This allowed to increase the annual ore mining rate and processing rate, together with gravity tailings, using gravity flotation circuit up to 300,000 tpa with total gold recovery 85.3 %.

Also, further exploration activities are carried out on the flanks and deep levels of the ore shoots involved in mining, and additional reserve increment is expected within this deposit.