PT Agincourt Resources will reduce the volume of gold production from the Martabe Mine in Tapanuli by around 10% to 20% this year compared to 2022 which reached 280,0000 ounces. Deputy President Director of Agincourt Resources Ruli Tanio said that gold production in 2023 will be slightly pressed so that we can concentrate in the long term to improve the balance of ecosystems, especially in maintaining biodiversity.
"Currently, we are managing our gold production a little. From a production standpoint, it will drop by 10-20%. This is so we can concentrate and prepare long-term issues related to environmental issues so that from a mining perspective it can be sustainable," he told the media crew, Friday (3/ 2). Even though there will be a decrease in production in 2023, Agincourt is optimistic that revenue and net profit in 2023 will be positive in line with rising gold prices.
"We want to be careful. Revenue or profit depends on the price of gold, now the price of gold is continuously rising," he explained. In addition, Agincourt also pays attention to several aspects of mining so that it does not have a negative impact on the environment because the company's mining area is in the vicinity of forests. Ruli said, mining activities are not easy. Agincourt must follow government regulations such as the exploration process takes 8 to 10 years and requires permits to be able to explore in the forest.
"Currently, there are Purnama, Ramba Joring, Barani, and Tor Uluala producing gold at Agincourt. But at Tor Uluala there are no activities yet, we are still processing exploration permits," he said. Agincourt is also preparing a design related to the plan to build a mini-hydro power plant (PLTMH) by utilizing water flow from the tailings management facility (TMF). "The project will be built this year. Currently there are still some problems related to the design, it's a bit complex. Hopefully this second semester can be implemented," he added.
Ruli conveyed that the development of mini-hydro electricity in the early stages would be built at two points of 1 MW with modular technology. "We have prepared funds of around US$ 2 million, from part of the capex (capital expenditure) that we have prepared this year," he said. According to Ruli, the power generated from the mini-hydro will be used to support the mine's operational electricity needs. For information, Agincourt Resources has operated a 2 MW solar power plant (PLTS) in the mining area.
Source: https://industri.kontan.co.id/news/agincourt-resources-akan-turunkan-produksi-emas-hingga-20-di-2023
