ANTAM's Gold Mining
ANTAM's main gold and silver production is sourced from its underground gold mines at Pongkor, West Java and Cibaliung, Banten which has started the post-mining phase. Indications of gold deposits at Pongkor were discovered by ANTAM's Geology Unit in 1981, and production commenced in May 1994 after ANTAM secured the mining license in 1992.
The Pongkor mine has three primary veins of gold, all of which currently being mined: Ciguha, Kubang Cicau and Ciurug. A mechanised cut and fill method, with hydraulic jumbo drill and load haul dump (LHD), was introduced in 2000 for the third vein, Ciurug. The use of mechanised cut and fill is intended not only to assist in meeting the increased production targets but also to lower overall production costs and to improve efficiency.. The gold ore goes through various processes which include crushing, milling, cyanidation, carbon leaching and stripping, electro winning to melting and casting to produce bullion/ dore. The waste is processed at the detoxification plant to reduce the cyanide content of tailings to below the threshold limit value of 0.5 ppm, so that it can be safely used as a total tailing backfill system in combination with cement.
In 2021, ANTAM’s total consolidated gold ore reserves were recorded at 1.02 million dry metric tons (dmt) or equivalent to 203 thousand troy oz (6.31 tons) of gold metal. Meanwhile, ANTAM’s consolidated gold mineral resources in 2021 was recorded at 6.75 million dmt or equivalent to 1.037 thousand troy oz (32.25 tonnes) of gold metal.
The dore/bullion that generated from mine ,then sent by armored vehicle to ANTAM's precious metals refinery, Logam Mulia, located in Jakarta. Please refer to the section Precious Metal Refining for further information on ANTAM's precious metal refining operation.
