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Over 3 million tonnes of ore extracted from Udokan copper deposit

MOSCOW, RUSSIA – Media OutReach – 31 January 2023 – More than 3 million tonnes of copper ore have already been mined from the western pit of the Udokan copper deposit, in Russia’s Trans-Baikal Region.

The deposit is being developed as part of mining and capital works that began in mid-2020. The ore extracted at this stage will be used to run cold and hot tests of equipment at the processing plant. Upon completion of the mining and capital works, sites, roads and other facilities will be ready so that heavy equipment can conduct open-pit mining.

According to Alexey Yashchuk, CEO of Udokan Copper, pre-production mining will increase by at least 150% this year. “This will enable us to produce a more than adequate stockpile by the start of the first phase of the mining and smelting plant, thus ensuring an uninterrupted production cycle”, he said.

As the deposit is mined, ore of satisfactory quality will be sent to the processing plant; the remaining ore will first be sorted by grade for further blending (in the required proportion) and then sent to the processing plant.

Production at Udokan is set to begin in 2023. The plant will have a processing capacity of up to 15 million tonnes of ore per year. The company will produce up to 135 thousand tonnes of copper annually in the form of copper cathodes and sulphide concentrate.

Hashtag: #UdokanCopper

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

About the company

Udokan Copper was founded to develop the Udokan copper deposit. It is part of USM, a diversified holding. With 26.7 million tonnes of copper reserves, Udokan is the largest deposit in Russia. The copper content, according to the guidelines of the JORC Code, is 0.97%.

The deposit is located in the Kalar District of the Trans-Baikal Region in Russia’s Far East, 30 km from the Novaya Chara station on the Baikal–Amur main line. Under the project, a mining and smelting plant is to be commissioned which will produce cathode copper and sulphide concentrate.

Miscw.com