Tajik-Chinese antimony project delayed to October due to COVID-19
2020-06-16 14:04:33 [Print]
A Chinese-Tajik antimony and gold mining joint venture has once again delayed its start-up because of the COVID-19 pandemic and now plans to begin commercial production by October, Tajik state metals firm TALCO said on Monday.
TALCO Gold, jointly owned by TALCO and China's Tibet Huayu Mining Co., planned to start producing antimony, a metal used in batteries and fire retardants, from the Konchoch deposits in western Tajikistan in March.
It initially put off the start-up until the middle of this year as the Central Asian nation closed its borders and suspended the issuance of work permits for foreigners due to the pandemic.
On Monday, Igor Sattarov, head of TALCO's information and public relations department, said the pandemic has significantly changed the project's timeframe. "Taking into account the current situation, we plan to start it no later than in October," he said in an email.
Sattarov said construction work at the site was 80% complete, but the delivery of equipment produced in Finland has been delayed by coronavirus-related restrictions and it could take another two months to finally get it shipped and running.
At the same time, he said, fresh data has indicated the venture could produce up to 21,000 tons of antimony and 2.5 tons of gold per year - more than the previous estimate of 16,000 tons and 2.2 tons respectively. "According to this data, Tajikistan could have the world's biggest antimony reserves and become the No.3 global producer after Russia and China," he said.
TALCO Gold, jointly owned by TALCO and China's Tibet Huayu Mining Co., planned to start producing antimony, a metal used in batteries and fire retardants, from the Konchoch deposits in western Tajikistan in March.
It initially put off the start-up until the middle of this year as the Central Asian nation closed its borders and suspended the issuance of work permits for foreigners due to the pandemic.
On Monday, Igor Sattarov, head of TALCO's information and public relations department, said the pandemic has significantly changed the project's timeframe. "Taking into account the current situation, we plan to start it no later than in October," he said in an email.
Sattarov said construction work at the site was 80% complete, but the delivery of equipment produced in Finland has been delayed by coronavirus-related restrictions and it could take another two months to finally get it shipped and running.
At the same time, he said, fresh data has indicated the venture could produce up to 21,000 tons of antimony and 2.5 tons of gold per year - more than the previous estimate of 16,000 tons and 2.2 tons respectively. "According to this data, Tajikistan could have the world's biggest antimony reserves and become the No.3 global producer after Russia and China," he said.
Antimony Conc. 50%min Delivered China
Unit:RMB/mt Sb
China antimony trioxide producers' sales to production ratio statistics by province by month
Unit: %
