World Placer Journal - 2001 - Volume 2, pages 1-13. | ||
Tests shows soviet style sluices lose a huge amount of gold to the tailings - a loss to the company and a loss of royalties to the Government and damaging export earnings... | ABSTRACT An assessment of placer gold reserves was made in the depths of the harsh Mongolian winter at the Ikh Alt Gold Mine in the Zaamar Goldfield between 28th November and 7th December 1998. The maximum temperature was below minus 10°C. Field descriptions support the re-interpretation of the bulk of the placer as being a thin sheet of solifluction material, not water-lain. The freezing conditions in the exposed steppe grasslands rendered panning impossible. 12 samples were taken to Ulaanbaatar for testing with a laboratory-based 3-inch KNELSON™ centrifugal concentrator plus 1.7mm KNELSON™ vibrating screen. The KNELSON™ results support an upward revision of virgin reserves. The KNELSON™ results also proved economic gold concentrations in 2 of 4 samples taken from the tailings of the Russian-style gold washing plants (0.756g/m³ and 1.974g/m³) where gold losses seem to have been substantial. This corresponds with 51% losses by Russian-style sluices at the nearby Toson Terrace Mine determined with a 20-inch KNELSON™ (Gary Beaudoin 2000), and 37% losses for Russian-style sluices at the Ikh Alt Mine determined with an IHC sawtooth jig (Bazuin et al. 2001). Losses of 37% during 1993-97 equates to 245 kilos of gold, equivalent to $2 million cash flow (at a current gold price of $9/gram), and a financial loss to the Government of $50,000 in royalties and $200,000 in Sales Tax. This is typical of placer gold mines in Mongolia due to a lack of high percentage gold recovery systems. | |
 | BAGGING TRENCH SAMPLE AT MINUS 30 CENTIGRADE... The traditional Mongolian winter clothing of wool-lined dell coats and felt boots were essential! | |
| TRENCH SAMPLE... Dr. Tumenbayar shows where one of the samples was taken. The trenching method takes a balanced sample very rapidly. | |
 | 3-INCH KNELSON + 1.7mm VIBRATING SCREEN... | |
