Two new vertical mills will be put into operation at Kumtor Mill

published: 11 August 2022

Kumtor Gold Company CJSC (KGC) continues the large-scale Gold Mill modernization process initiated last year. In the nearest future, two new tower mills will be put into operation, which will significantly increase the gold extraction percentage.

KGC Mill Manager Emil Djanybekov explains the importance of the innovations: “Now we have four mills in operation, where we get about 96-97% grinding at 20 microns with planned gold recovery rates ranging from 88 to 90%. For comparison, the thickness of human hair is in average 75 microns. It is more effective to grind ore in vertical mills than in horizontal mills. With the commissioning of two new vertical mills, we will be able to have 99% grinding at 20 microns with gold recovery from 90 to 92%.”

The installation of such equipment is unique in Kyrgyzstan. Assembling and adjusting process is  sophisticated, and is performed under supervision of a foreign specialist – a representative of the mill manufacturer company.

– I am very impressed with how the industrial safety rules have been observed at Kumtor. Every employee works to make sure that every shift goes without incident. Everyone takes very seriously and evaluates every action to ensure that the mill installation process runs efficiently and safely,” says the Project Engineer Jason Carlos Magalus.

Installation of the new mills will be completed in the next few weeks. Start-up and commissioning will take some time  In the future, these structures will allow to process up to 200 tons of ore per hour. The additional mills, in conjunction with other projects, will allow the company to increase its gold production plans while using less capacity.