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Chukotka estimates road link between gold deposit and port to cost $608 mln

Chukotka’s government estimated construction of a road between the Peschanka gold-copper deposit and the Pevek sea port in the region’s west at $608 million
Pevek sea port  Evgeniy Orlov/TASS
Pevek sea port
© Evgeniy Orlov/TASS

TASS, August 29. Chukotka’s government estimated the construction of a road between the Peschanka gold-copper deposit and the Pevek seaport in the region’s west at 41.5 billion rubles ($608 million), the region’s Head of the Transport, Communications and Road Department Andrei Bykov said on Wednesday during a meeting with Russia’s Deputy Minister of Transport Yuri Tsvetkov.

"In order to have transport links between the Peschanka deposit and the Pevek seaport, we would need to build a road worth about 41.5 billion rubles," he said at the meeting in Anadyr. "The road should be ready by the time the deposit gets up and running."

The priority is to finish building the road, which will be 250 km long and will connect the Ilirnei village with the deposit. According to Bykov, this task is in line with an order from Russian President Vladimir Putin to consider this project. The deposit is scheduled to start operating in 2022.

The Baimskaya area in Chukotka, of which Peschanka is a part, is rich in resources with 23 million tonnes of copper and 2,000 tonnes (64.3 million ounces) of gold. Peschanka holds 9.5 million tonnes of copper and 16.5 million ounces of gold (based on Australia’s JORC methodology). The mine is expected to reach an annual output of 148,000 tonnes of copper and 275,500 ounces of gold, where for the first decade the output would be 250,000 tonnes of copper and 400,000 ounces of gold a year.

The seaport in Pevek covers 19 to 23 hectares for cargo storage, which would be necessary for developing new deposits and for constructing an energy bridge from Magadan. The cargo turnover is due to grow starting in 2019, when the port is expected to receive additional construction materials for cultivating the Kekura, Klen and Peschanka gold deposits. The seaport’s annual cargo turnover is 250,000 tonnes.