Irkutsk region ups gold output 4% in 7 mths
IRKUTSK. Aug 3 (Interfax) - Russia's Irkutsk region raised gold production 4% year-on-year in January-July to 7.435 tonnes, the region's natural resources department told Interfax.
The region produced 2.495 tonnes of vein gold: OJSC Vysochaishy (GV Gold) mined 1.57 tonnes at the Golets Vysochaishy field; CJSC Sukhoi Log, a unit of Polyus Gold's Lenskaya Gold Mining subsidiary, produced 466 kilograms at the Zapadnoye deposit; and LLC Druza mined 444 kg at the Nevskoye deposit.
The region mined 4.94 tonnes of placer gold. CJSC Vitim produced 1.186 tonnes, and CJSC Svetly and CJSC ZDK Lenzoloto, both of which are divisions of Polyus Gold subsidiary Lenzoloto Holding, mined 942 kg and 600 kg, respectively.
The Irkutsk region produced 14.767 tonnes of gold in 2009, up 1.7% from 2008. This included 4.377 tonnes of vein gold, down 9.5%, and 10.39 tonnes of placer gold up 7.2%.
The region's gold mining companies have a quota to produce 15.975 tonnes in 2010. The original quota was 15.425 tonnes, but this was revised up after the end of H1 2010 when companies started to overshoot production targets.