Polymetal might sell or create JV to develop Tamunier deposit
MOSCOW. Sept 5 (Interfax) - Polymetal International, which controls Russia's OJSC Polymetal , is considering either selling or creating a joint venture for the development of the Tamunier gold ore deposit in the Sverdlovsk region, the company said in a press release.
As a result of exploration work, the Tamunier deposit's JORC-compliant mineral resources have been estimated at 50 million tonnes of ore at 1.2 grams of gold per tonne.
"The size of the deposit is quite substantial. However, the Tamunier project does not fit with our strategy of concentrating on higher-grade assets and we will, therefore, consider a sale or partnership to advance the development of the asset," Polymetal's CEO Vitaly Nesis is quoted as saying in the press release.
Polymetal secured the rights for the Tamunier deposit in 2007, shelling out $536,000 for the license.
Jersey-based Polymetal International plc is the holding company of OJSC Polymetal , which is Russia's largest silver producer and one of its leading gold producers. The company's enterprises are located in the Magadan region (the Dukat, Lunnoye and Omolonsky hubs), the Sverdlovsk region (Vorontsovskoye), the Khabarovsk territory (Khakanja, Albazin, Amur Mining and Metallurgical Company), Chukotka (Maiskoye), and Kazakhstan (Varvarinskoye).
Polymetal Int's chief beneficiaries are Alexander Nesis' IST group (17.9%), Petr Kellner's PPF Group NV (20.86%), Alexander Mamut (10.12%), Alexander Mosionzhik's MBC Development (4.44%) and ex-director of OJSC Baltic Plant Oleg Shulyakovsky (4.27%).
