- Steppe Gold Limited (STGO) provides a progress report showing two significant milestones on its Phase 2 expansion at the ATO Gold Mine
- Steppe Gold’s ATO Gold Mine has received relevant government approvals to build and connect a high voltage power line system of 110/35/10 kV
- Furthermore, all equipment for the new crushing unit has arrived via 15 open-top railway wagons and 62 trucks
- Steppe Gold is Mongolia’s premier precious metals company
- Steppe Gold Ltd. was up 3.636 per cent, trading at $1.14 as at 11:56 AM ET
Steppe Gold Limited (STGO) has provided a progress report showing two significant milestones on its Phase 2 expansion at the ATO Gold Mine.
Steppe Gold’s ATO Gold Mine has received approvals from the Ministry of Energy and National Dispatching Centre to build and connect a high voltage power line system of 110/35/10 kV and use 10MW from the Dornod Province State Power Plant.
This is a significant milestone in the Phase 2 Expansion, and a special purpose company Steppe Power LLC has been established to manage the development and connection to the state grid system.
With the recent significant rise in fuel prices, connecting to the state grid power system will dramatically reduce projected energy costs by 75 per cent, or from approximately $32M to $8M annually at the Phase 2 Expansion and will reduce expected cash costs by well in excess of $100/oz.
All equipment for the new crushing unit has arrived via 15 open-top railway wagons and 62 trucks.
Currently, 160 tonnes of equipment have been installed out of a total of 220 tonnes, and installation work is 72-per-cent complete.
Once operational, the new crushing unit will increase Steppe Gold’s current capacity by 4 times, up to 4Mt per annum/ at 50 per cent of its power.
At an estimated 70-per-cent recovery, the total inventory on the leach pad, ROM pad and pit floors is approximately 80,000 ounces of recoverable gold.
The company has received a new batch of reagents via rail and will increase the rate of production in the coming months.
“We are pleased to report solid progress on the new fixed crusher, which is a critical step in the Phase 2 expansion,” said President and CEO of Steppe Gold, Bataa Tumur-Ochir.
“Despite a challenging period with COVID-related lockdowns in China and continued border closures, we have shipped all heavy equipment and installation work is rapidly advancing,” he added.
The company has over 781,500 tonnes of ore on the ROM pad in addition to 735,000 tonnes of blasted material on the pit floors, and the new crushing unit will significantly increase daily crushing rates at the Phase 1 project in the winter months.
Steppe Gold is Mongolia’s premier precious metals company.
Steppe Gold Ltd. was up 3.636 per cent, trading at $1.14 as at 11:56 AM ET.
