Australian engineer Ausenco’s cold-climate gold plant expertise was favoured by Rupert Resources in its search for a firm to lead the feasibility study for its proposed US$575 million Ikkari gold project in Finland’s north.
“The engineering company was selected for its expertise in designing and executing gold processing plants similar in scale to Ikkari, with a particular focus on operating in cold climates,” Rupert said when announcing Ausenco’s appointment this week.
Toronto-listed Rupert’s Ikkari prefeasibility study looked at a 3.5 million tonnes per annum plant to take openpit mine feed for the first decade of a planned 20-year mine life and then 2.6Mtpa from underground. It is aiming to finish the feasibility study by the end of June next year.
“Significant progress has been made, including metallurgical test work that indicates gold recoveries above 95% with lower cyanide consumption,” Rupert said.
Ikkari has a current probable mineral reserve of 52Mt grading 2.1 grams per tonne gold for 3.5Moz. It is on the Central Lapland Greenstone Belt, part of the Fennoscandian shield, which hosts Agnico Eagle’s producing Kittila gold mine.
“The appointment of Ausenco represents an important milestone in advancing the project towards development,” Rupert CEO Graham Crew said.
“Over the past year the team has completed significant optimisation work across processing, waste and water management. The updated design remains closely aligned with the PFS, while further reducing both technical and environmental risk.”
