Polymetal plans to commission Veduga gold recovery plant in H2 2026, mulling first copper project
VLADIVOSTOK. Sept 4 (Interfax) - JSC Polymetal plans to commission a recovery plant the Veduga gold deposit in the Krasnoyarsk territory in the second half of 2026, the chairman of the company's board of directors, Alexander Govorunov told Interfax on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum.
Polymetal's stake in the Veduga project is less than controlling at 49.99%, but it remains project operator.
"Construction plant at Veduga is well underway, it should be launched in the second half of 2026. One of the main tasks today is to stockpile feed, which is why the mine itself achieved full ramp-up in the summer: 24 dump trucks, drilling rigs, excavators, including electric ones, are operating at the open pit," Govorunov said. "We recently launched our own explosives production. This will allow us to increase blasting operations to fulfill the production plan," he said.
Polymetal is also planning its first copper project in Krasnoyarsk territory.
"The Polar Copper project in the very north of the Krasnoyarsk territory is an interesting challenge for us. We want to build our first copper processing facility in Arctic conditions. Today we're at the very beginning of the journey: we are putting a team together, and we have started organizing a base. The focus right now on the Graviysky section of the Chernorechenskaya area. Drilling is underway here, samples are being analyzed in laboratories on the mainland. The first results are impressive," Govorunov said.
Polymetal said in the spring that it had acquired the Sibaisky GOK mining and processing complex in Bashkortostan to restart a mothballed recovery plant to develop the Novopetrovskoye deposit. "We have begun modernizing the recently purchased Sibaisky GOK. We do not want to limit ourselves to feedstock from Novopetrovskoye alone, so we are looking at two additional sources: our own exploration projects and toll-processing feed from third-party subsoil users in the region. This could even be ore from neighboring Kazakhstan," Govorunov said.
The company has a lot of faith in geological exploration and is conducting this in all regions where it operates. "We are thinking of adding tungsten from the Agylki deposit in Yakutia to our basket of products. We plan to produce scheelite tungsten concentrate there," he said. "Essentially we are embarking in a revival of refractory metal mining in modern Russia. The tungsten processing technology will have to be created practically from scratch, we are currently getting to grips with this but we are upbeat. We are studying the flanks of Agylki using search prospecting traverses and aeromagnetic survey during this field season," he said.
It emerged in August that Polymetal, in consortium with Highland Gold, could invest in a refinery in Khabarovsk territory. Govorunov confirmed his preliminary interest in the project as part of a consortium of investors. "We are currently working on a feasibility study, analyzing environmental and infrastructure aspects. It's too soon to make further comment," he said.
JSC Polymetal is Russia's largest silver producer and one of the leading gold miners. According to an assessment by Interfax, the company produced around 39 tonnes of precious metals totaling in gold equivalent in 2024.
The company's mines are located in the Magadan and Sverdlovsk regions, the Khabarovsk Territory, Yakutia and Chukotka. Mangazeya Group of Companies, owned by Sergei Yanchukov, currently owns Polymetal.
