Silver Bear convinces Russian authorities not to revoke license
MOSCOW. Nov 22 (Interfax) - Canada's Silver Bear Resources, among the shareholders of which are Alfa Group and Alexei Mordashov's investment fund, have convinced the Russian authorities not to revoke its license over missed exploration deadlines.
The office of Russian Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich told the press that on November 22 on the deputy PM's instructions Alexander Popov, the head of Russian subsoil agency Rosnedra, met with representatives from Silver Bear subsidiary CJSC Prognoz, the Canadian embassy in Moscow, the Natural Resources Ministry and Federal Natural Resources Service Rosprirodnadzor.
At the meeting a decision was made to extend the license for four years and to significantly increase the volume of geological exploration work.
CJSC Prognoz obtained a license to explore the Endibal site (a silver and gold field in Yakutia) in 2004. The initial license expiry date was in 2009, but it has been extended twice. In 2012 Rosnedra refused to extend the license for another five years because work had only been carried out on a very small part of the site.
Silver Bear asked Rosnedra and the Natural Resources Ministry to review this decision, explaining that the license had initially been extended for a shorter time than the company had asked for. Dvorkovich asked for the situation to be reviewed "due to the need to support honest foreign investors," his office said.
Earlier Prognoz CEO Yuri Petrov said the company had spent over 1.5 billion rubles on geological exploration at Endibal over eight years.
Silver Bear specializes in the development of silver projects in Russia and its main asset is the Mangazeisky deposit, located 400 kilometers north of Yakutsk. A NI 43-101 standard mineral base audit in February 2011 showed estimated and proven resources at Mangazeisky of 1.1 million tonnes of ore with an average silver content of 514 grams per tonne and forecast resources of 1.7 million tonnes of ore with silver content of 554 grams per tonne.
Silver Bear announced in May 2012 that it was placing 2.79 million Canadian dollars (around $2.71 million) worth of shares and warrants. The money raised will be used to replenish working capital, fund geological exploration and start work on a Mangazeisky feasibility study. In mid-March 2012 Aterra Capital, the investment fund of OJSC Severstal's main beneficiary Alexei Mordashov, bought 3.5 million Canadian dollars in Silver Bear shares through Tabac Ventures Ltd.
Among the company's main shareholders are Tabac, the executive chairman of the board of Randall Oliphant, Forbes & Manhattan and Alfa Group.