Overview

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Mining process

The mining process we use is cyanide leaching followed by Merrill-Crowe zinc precipitation. The process uses solution that goes around in a circle with no waste product and no discharge to the environment. The heap leach pads have a HDPE lining to ensure cyanide does not leak into the surrounding area. Cyanide is like chlorine in a swimming pool; it deteriorates rapidly with time and sunshine, so it is easy to clean the heap leach pads when they are finished and leave them safe for the environment.


Mine site

The Kanjol mine site is located 17 km away from Istiqlol city and at 1,500 m above sea. It contains a Merrill-Crowe factory, a heap leach pad, a water reservoir, a cyanide store, a security room, an office, a kitchen, a dining room, staff accommodation and bathrooms, all in one location, circled by a 1 km perimeter fence.

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Heap leach pad

A heap leach pad using cyanide is used as the first part of the process to extract silver from the ore at the Kanjol mine site. The pad is a valley dump leach pad as it is built inside the landscape and blending with the environment. Nukrafom is building a big heap leach pad gradually, calling each section a Pad: Pad1, Pad2, etc. The site will allow a total of 15 pads taking 600,000 tonnes of ore and further expansion is available using the next valley.


Merrill-Crowe

A Merrill-Crowe zinc precipitation factory is used as the second part of the process to extract silver. Nukrafom is the first company in Tajikistan to use this technology and has become the Tajik expert in Merrill-Crowe giving advice to other mines.


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Silver Precipitate

Nukrafom produces silver precipitate, which looks like a concentrate but has properties more similar to a Doré bar. It is a grey powder containing between 40% and 60% of silver, the rest being mostly zinc with traces of gold and other metals. The precipitate is dried and pulverised at Nukrafom before being sold. Nukrafom signed agency agreements with various partners around the world. Conrad Partners, based in Hong Kong, introduced us to JBR Recovery in the UK, who have taken delivery of most of our silver precipitate.