Merdeka Copper Gold unit targets 120,000 oz gold production this year - Companies

T Bumi Suksesindo (BSI), a gold mining division of PT Merdeka Copper Gold, targets gold and silver production of 100,000 to 120,000 ounces by 2024.

In June, gold production from BSI’s Tujuh Bukit mine in Banyuangi, East Java, was 25,382 oz.

Roelly Franza, chief executive of BSI, said the all-time high gold price has made unattractive gold grades attractive.

“In the past, a good (golden) figure was 0.2. Yes, with the previous gold price of US$1,700 (per ounce). Now that the gold price is improving, we can process gold (ores) of (quality) 0.17. That is the operational impact,” he told reporters in Banyuangi on Friday.

The grade of gold ore is the content of gold in a given amount of rock or sediment.

Roelly said he expected the rising gold price to extend the life of mines by increasing the profitability of mining even lower-grade ores.

‘We are not drilling a new well, no. We could drill around (the same well), because gold prices (have risen), we could (expand the well). We should report this (operation) to the government to record the conservation of the minerals (data),” he said, implying that the company was open to the idea of expanding its gold mine.

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