Capex for Nordgold's Gross project could fall 10% due to devaluation - CEO
MOSCOW. Jan 27 (Interfax) - Capex for Nordgold's main project in Russia, the Gross project, could turn out to be 10% lower than the originally planned $300 million due to the ruble's devaluation, Nordgold CEO Nikolai Zelensky told reporters.
The company is currently looking at two investment projects - Gross, which is located in the mineral-rich internal Russian republic of Yakutia; and Bouly in Burkina Faso.
Zelensky has said it would be preferable to develop projects sequentially, starting with Bouly as the most straightforward and low-cost site. However a decision on the sequence of projects has not yet been reached.
"Bouly is the shorter project, we'd like to build [a mine] quite soon. It might take a year, or slightly longer. And the capex we initially estimated is around $140 million. Now we're looking - and again, the world market situation is fairly good - we're looking at lowering capex. Equipment manufacturers are offering better terms, and so on. Maybe this amount will alter," Zelensky said on January 27.
"Our second project, Gross, is bigger in terms of capex. We initially estimated this at $300 million. And now, due to the devaluation, we might see a 10% drop in capex when we carry it out. And it will probably take about two years to build," he said.