KHUJAND, August 26, 2008, Asia-Plus  -- The Panjakent-based Zeravshan Gold Company (ZGC) has completed construction of an ore-leaching plant and it will be put into operation soon, the enterprise executive director Bobo Bobokhonov said in an interview with Asia-Plus.

China’s Zijin Mining Group Co. owns 751 percent of the shares and the Tajikistan assumes the 25-percent ownership interest in ZGC.  

According to Bobokhonov the plant with capacity of leaching up to 5 million tons of ore per year was built by Chinese specialists in only 45 days and it will be put into operation within the next few days.  

“A new equipment with capacity of processing 10,000 tons of ore per year has already been delivered to the enterprise,” said Bobokhonov, “Now, we have an opportunity to install three new processing lines.  Installation of the first line has already been completed and two others will be introduced into operation in late October.”   

He also noted that the enterprise was not modernized from 1997 to 2007, when the Chinese company sold Avocet Mining’s interest.  Zijin Group Co. has spent more than 18 million so far for modernization of the plant.  In all, the Chinese company intends to invest $100 million in modernization of the enterprise.  1,800 persons now work with the ZGC.  

We will recall that in July 2007, ZGC had a significant change of ownership.  Avocet Mining, the UK-listed owner of 75% of ZGC sold out its interest to Zijin Mining Group Co., Ltd. 

The main product of ZGC is gold-silver Dore alloy, which is refining at affinage plant in Tajikistan with producing of chemically pure gold and silver (99.99 and 99.95 alloys respectively).