Zijin Mining Expands Gold Development in Kazakhstan: Over $600 Million Investment in New Processing Plant, Annual Gold Output Expected to Double

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On September 4, Zijin RG Gold, a subsidiary of Zijin Mining, commenced construction of a new gold processing plant at the Raygorodok gold mine in the Burabay District of the Akmola Region, Kazakhstan. The project involves direct investment of over $600 million, with the new plant designed to process 10 million tonnes of ore annually. Upon completion, the mine's total ore processing capacity will increase to 16 million tonnes per year. Management from the Akmola Regional Government, Zijin Mining, and Zijin RG Gold attended the project launch event.

The project involves not only the construction of the main processing facilities but also the simultaneous development of power supply, water supply, tailings facilities, transportation and logistics systems, maintenance and warehousing complexes, as well as a shift camp accommodating 400 people, forming a complete industrial facility system covering ore processing, utilities, tailings management, and production support. The existing Raygorodok processing plant has been in operation since 2022, and the new project will add 10 million tonnes per year of processing capacity to the existing production system.

According to data released by the Akmola Regional Government, the new project is expected to add approximately 7 tonnes of annual gold output once operational, bringing Zijin RG Gold's total annual gold production from the current approximately 6 tonnes to over 12 tonnes. The technical renovation study disclosed in Zijin Mining's 2025 annual report projected that after adding 10 million tonnes per year of processing capacity, the mine's total processing scale would reach 16 million tonnes per year, with annual gold output of approximately 10–11 tonnes at full capacity; the construction plan announced by the Kazakh side this time sets a higher latest production target.

The Raygorodok gold mine is located in the Akmola Region of northern Kazakhstan and consists of two open pits, south and north, approximately 2 kilometres apart. According to Zijin Mining's latest project data, as of the end of 2025, the mine holds approximately 220 million tonnes of ore resources with an average gold grade of approximately 1.1 g/t; ore reserves stand at approximately 107 million tonnes with an average gold grade of approximately 1.04 g/t. The existing production system employs open-pit mining, carbon-in-pulp (CIP), and heap leaching processes, of which the oxide ore heap leaching system was commissioned in 2016, and the new CIP cyanidation processing plant was put into production in 2022.

Zijin Gold International completed the acquisition of the project interests of RG Gold LLP and RG Processing LLP on October 10, 2025, thereby gaining control of the Raygorodok gold mine. Zijin Mining previously disclosed that the acquisition consideration was determined on a cash-free, debt-free basis, with a transaction valuation of approximately $1.2 billion, subject to final adjustments based on cash, working capital, and debt items at closing. Following the completion of the acquisition, Zijin immediately initiated mine technical renovation and capacity expansion studies. The commencement of the new processing plant marks the transition of the 10 million tonnes per year of additional processing capacity from preliminary studies to the engineering and construction stage.

The Akmola Region currently accounts for approximately 54% of Kazakhstan's national Doré alloy production, with gold producers such as RG Gold, Altyntau Kokshetau, and Altynalmas concentrated in the area. The region is also advancing other mining, processing, and expansion projects as well as technical renovation initiatives, aiming to further increase regional gold ore processing capacity by 2028.