Metalloinvest may put up to $6-$8 bln into Udokan development over 5-6 yrs - Stepashin
MOSCOW. July 20 (Interfax) - Alisher Usmanov's iron ore and steel holding OJSC Metalloinvest intends to invest as much as $6-$8 billion in the development of the Udokan copper field in Baikal Territory, Russian Audit Chamber chief Sergei Stepashin told reporters on Wednesday.
"Metalloinvest - these are very serious people, the price of the matter is about $6-$8 billion with infrastructure," Stepashin said. "The prospects for the development of the Udokan deposit are very good," he said. Stepashin was in the territory on a working trip.
The Udokan field, one of the world's biggest, contains three types of ore: sulfide, mixed and oxide, accounting for 43%, 40% and 17% of total ore, respectively. The State Reserves Commission has said the field contains commercial reserves of 1.375 billion tonnes ore with 19.95 million tonnes copper, average Cu content 1.45%; and 11,900 tonnes silver, Ag 9.6 grams/tonne.
OJSC Mikhailovsky GOK , part of the Metalloinvest holding, was adjudged the victor in a tender for the copper field's development on September 10 of 2008. Baikal Mining Company LLC was later set up for the purposes of opening the deposit.
The actual development of Udokan is slated to begin next year.
As reported, a consortium of Metalloinvest and Russian Technologies is negotiating with VTB and Vnesheconombank (VEB) for a credit line of from $1.5 billion to $2 billion for financing the development.
Usmanov said not long ago that Metalloinvest planned to raise $3.8 billion for the work, of which $2 billion would go into the operation's first production line.