Petropavlovsk subsidiary gets certificate for Yamal gold field discovery
SALEKHARD. Oct 20 (Interfax) - OJSC Yamalzoloto, a subsidiary of Petropavlovsk plc, formed from this year's merger between Peter Hambro Mining plc and mineral resources developer Aricom plc, has received a certificate testifying to its discovery of the Petropavlovsk gold deposit in the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous District.
Yamalnedra, the local branch of the Russian Federal Subsurface Resources Agency (Rosnedra), issued the certificate, Valery Ivanovsky, head of geology and solid mineral licensing at Yamalnedra, told Interfax.
"A commission has confirmed that the Petropavlovsk field contains 9.69 tonnes of gold. Yamalzoloto explored it at its own expense, spending approximately 860 million rubles," Ivanovsky said.
He said the company would receive a 20-year license to develop the field, probably during the first quarter of 2010.
The Petropavlovsk field's discovery brings overall proven and listed reserves in the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous District to 17 tonnes of gold. This includes the 7.2 tonnes at the Novogodnee-Monto deposit, which were put on the state balance in 2007. Yamalzoloto is licensed to explore and mine the Novogodnee-Monto deposit and two sections of the Toupugol-Khanmeishorskaya property. Novogodnee-Monto also contains 5 million tonnes of magnetite ore.