DUSHANBE, January 8, 2013, Asia-Plus — Tajik-Chinese gold-mining joint venture, Zeravshan Gold Company (ZGC), has discovered new gold reserves at its gold deposit, Khirsona, Azim Ibrohim, the chairman of the Main Geology Directorate under the Government of Tajikistan, told reporters in Dushanbe on January 8.
According to him, additional geological works have been funded by Zijin Mining, which assumes the 75% ownership in ZGC.
ZGC owns gold mining and exploration rights to a 300,000-hectare area near the town of Panjakent in northern Tajikistan.
“It was supposed that the Khirsona deposit reserves had been exhausted but according to findings of the geological survey, the deposit still has possible gold reserves of 10 tons,” Ibrohim noted.
Besides, Tajik geologists are continuing to explore alluvial gold placer deposits in the Asht district and Zarafshon Valley in Sughd province as well as in Muminobod and Baljuvon districts in Khatlon province.
“We have mapped possible reserves of the alluvial gold placer deposits,” Azim Ibrohim said, noting that Tajikistan has possible placer gold reserves of some 100 tons.
Typical locations for alluvial gold placer deposits are on the inside bends of rivers and creeks, in natural hollows; at the break of slope on a stream; the base of an escarpment, waterfall or other barrier; and within sand dunes, beach profiles or gravel beds.
Tajikistan reportedly has 28 known gold deposits containing an estimated 429.3 tons of gold. Since 2010, Tajikistan has produced on average 2,000 kilograms of gold per year, most of which comes from the Jilau deposit operated by ZGC. The other two gold producers are the gold-mining enterprise, Tilloi Tojik (formerly JV Darvaz), which produces gold from its alluvial operation at the Yakhsou deposit, located in Khatlon province in southern Tajikistan, and Tajik-Canadian gold-mining joint venture, Aprelevka, which is engaged in mining and processing of ores at Aprelevka, Qyzyl-Cheku, Burgunda, Ekiljon and other small deposits in northern Tajikistan (Sughd province).
