Yakutia Plans Gold Production Surge to 75 Tons Per Year Within a Decade

Yakutia is preparing for a major expansion of its gold mining industry, with authorities targeting annual production of 70-75 tons within the next five to ten years. The goal was announced by Maksim Tereshchenko, Minister of Industry and Geology of the republic, during the II Far Eastern Subsoil Use Forum held in Yakutsk, RBC reports.

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Gold bullion

Strategic Role of the Far Eastern Mining Sector

Head of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) Aisen Nikolaev emphasized that the Far Eastern Subsoil Use Forum serves as a key platform bringing together leading experts, government officials, and business representatives to discuss long-term development of the mineral resource base of both the Far East and Russia as a whole.

"This dialogue is becoming particularly important today in light of the implementation of large-scale state initiatives,” Nikolaev noted.

Hard-Rock Deposits Drive Gold Output Growth

The ambitious growth strategy for Yakutia's gold industry is closely linked to the development of hard-rock deposits. In July, Seligdar commissioned a new gold processing plant at the Khvoinoye deposit with a design capacity of 2.5 tons of gold per year. Production is expected to reach 250 kilograms in 2025, increase to one ton in 2026, and then gradually achieve full capacity.

Further expansion within the holding is planned through the Kyuchus project. Seligdar intends to begin development of the Kyuchus deposit in 2029, with the mining and processing plant scheduled to reach its design output of 10 tons of gold annually by 2030-2031.

Major Investments by Leading Gold Producers

In September, Nordgold began ore crushing operations at the Tokko Mining and Processing Plant. By 2027, the facility is expected to reach its planned capacity of five million tons of ore per year. At the same time, the company plans to launch development of the Roman gold deposit, where a heap leaching complex is designed to process up to nine million tons of ore annually.

Polyus is also expanding production in Yakutia. This year, Polyus Aldan plans to increase the capacity of its existing heap leaching site at the Kuranakh group of deposits to five million tons per year. In parallel, construction is underway on a new heap leaching complex at the southern Kuranakh deposits with a total capacity of 12.5 million tons of ore annually.

The project will be commissioned in two stages: the first phase, with a capacity of 6.5 million tons, is scheduled for 2027, while the second phase is expected to be completed by the end of 2028.