By Shane Lasley
Mining News
Kinross to shutter Russian gold mine
Ukraine invasion prompts miner to pull out of Far East Russia North of 60 Mining News – March 4, 2022
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Last updated 3/17/2022 at 2:13pm
Kinross Gold Corp.
Trucks deliver supplies over a winter road to Kinross' Kupol gold mine in the Chukotka region of Russia's Far East.
Deeply concerned about the loss of life and destruction being caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Kinross Gold Corp. has decided to suspend all activities at its gold projects in the Russian Far East.
Kinross' Kupol Mine in the Chukotka region of eastern Russia produced 481,108 ounces of gold-equivalent, which includes the value of both the gold and silver produced, during 2021. This one mine accounted for roughly 23% of the gold-equivalent oz produced by the company last year.
Despite being the second largest and lowest cost gold mine in its portfolio, Kinross has decided to wind down operations at Kupol and Udinsk, where the company had been working toward developing another gold mine in Russia's Far East.
While suspending operation at Kupol will significantly impact 2022 gold production, gold output at this mine was already slowing and cost increasing as the grades of ore decreased and the veins are getting narrower.
In its production guidance released earlier this year, Kinross anticipated Kupol to produce 350,000 oz of gold during 2022, accounting for 13% of the 2.65 million oz expected from all the company's operations this year.
Kinross says the winding down of Kupol and its other activities in Russia are focused on the safety and well-being of its more than 2,000 employees, while also recognizing its obligations to manage and mitigate the Kupol's environmental impact moving forward.
Expressing sympathy and support for the Ukrainian people suffering due to the Russian invasion, Kinross is donating $1 million to the Canadian Red Cross Ukraine Humanitarian Crisis Appeal to assist those people most in need.
The global gold mining company is hopeful for a peaceful and diplomatic solution in Ukraine.
Over his more than 16 years of covering mining and mineral exploration, Shane has become renowned for his ability to report on the sector in a way that is technically sound enough to inform industry insiders while being easy to understand by a wider audience.
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