Mining Intelligence and News
North Macedonia

Sasa Mine

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Overview

Mine TypeUnderground
StatusActive
Commodities
  • Lead
  • Zinc
  • Silver
Mining Method
  • Sub-level caving
  • Cut & Fill
  • Longhole stoping
Backfill type ... Lock
Production Start... Lock
Mine Life... Lock
SnapshotThe Sasa operation is an underground mine, and the processing plant uses froth flotation to produce a zinc concentrate and a lead concentrate containing silver.

LoM plan of Sasa operation includes a transition from the Sub-Level Caving mining method to Cut and Fill as well as Long Hole Stoping with paste backfill.

Cut and Fill and Long Hole Stoping are more selective mining methods than Sub-Level Caving. This transition will allow the mine to adapt to the changing orebody, achieve higher recovery of ore and reduce the dilution from unmineralised material.

A key component of CAML’s capital projects at Sasa is the construction of a dry stack tailings plant and associated landform, and this will be completed in 2024.

Owners

SourceSource
CompanyInterestOwnership
Central Asia Metals PLC 100 % Indirect
Rudnik SASA DOOEL (operator) 100 % Direct
Sasa project is wholly owned and operated by Rudnik SASA DOOEL, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Central Asia Metals PLC.

Contractors

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Deposit type

  • Skarn
  • Hydrothermal
  • Replacement

Summary:

SASA Mine comprises the Svinja Reka, Golema Reka and Kozja Reka lead-zinc-silver deposits, which lie within the Serbo-Macedonian Massif, a belt which extends through Serbia, Macedonia, Bulgaria, and eastern Greece into Turkey and hosts a large number of lead-zinc deposits. The mineral deposits are located on the eastern flank of a Tertiary intermediate intrusive complex and related porphyry Cu-Mo system, within which a northwest striking stockwork alteration zone is developed. Lead-zinc-silver mineralisation occurs as stratiform deposits hosted predominantly by quartz-graphite schist and marbles of Lower Palaeozoic age at Svinja Reka and by gneisses at Golema Reka. The mineralisation is considered to relate to the intrusion of Tertiary volcanics. High-temperature hydrothermal fluids and bedding-parallel faulting are responsible for metasomatism of the host sediments, producing skarn and base metal mineralisation.

The well-defined, partially exploited, lenses of lead-zinc-silver mineralisation dip at approximately 35° to the south-west and typically range in true thickness from between 2 and 30 m. The mineralised lenses are present in parallel sheets (typically two or three bodies, namely the hanging wall, central and footwall orebodies), separated by an interburden with thicknesses of 1 to 10 m. The lenses pinch and swell along strike and down-dip. The mineral deposits are considered to be metasomatic skarn-hydrothermal deposits with replacement and bedding-parallel fault controlled mineralisation. The skarns occur in the form of replacement of marble, whereas the hydrothermal lead-zinc-silver mineralisation appears as replacements and as open-space fillings. The hydrothermal association, which is superimposed onto the skarn assemblages, contains argentiferous galena, sphalerite, pyrite and minor chalcopyrite.

Reserves

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Mining Methods

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Comminution

Crushers and Mills

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Processing

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Production

CommodityProductUnits20242023202220212020201920182017
Lead Metal in concentrate M lbs  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe646566
Zinc Metal in concentrate M lbs  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe525048
Lead Concentrate kt  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe404041
Zinc Concentrate kt  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe474644
Zinc Payable metal M lbs  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe43
^ Guidance / Forecast.

Operational metrics

Metrics20242023202220212020201920182017
Ore tonnes mined  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe817,714 t803,101 t792,068 t
Waste  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe
Total tonnes mined  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe
Tonnes milled  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe820,421 t804,749 t793,332 t
^ Guidance / Forecast.

Production Costs

CommodityUnits2023202220212020201920182017
C1 cash costs Zinc Equivalent USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe 0.47 / lb   0.46 / lb   0.44 / lb  

Operating Costs

Currency202320222021202020192018
Total operating costs ($/t milled) USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe

Financials

Units2023202220212020201920182017
Sustaining costs M USD  ....  Subscribe
Capital expenditures M USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe 7.5   13.4  
Revenue M USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe 92.5   102.5   18,664  
Pre-tax Income M USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe 34.3   31   14.5  
After-tax Income M USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe
EBITDA M USD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe 59.6   71.2   14.5  

Heavy Mobile Equipment

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Personnel

Mine Management

Job TitleNameProfileRef. Date
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Jul 21, 2024
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Jul 21, 2024
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Jul 21, 2024
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Jul 21, 2024
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Jul 21, 2024
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Jul 21, 2024

EmployeesContractorsTotal WorkforceYear
...... Subscription required 2023
...... Subscription required 2022
...... Subscription required 2021
...... Subscription required 2020
...... Subscription required ...... Subscription required ...... Subscription required 2019

Aerial view:

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