Russia's Krasnoyarsk territory could boost gold output 20% in 2010
KRASNOYARSK. Oct 7 (Interfax) - Russia's Krasnoyarsk territory could boost gold production 20% next year to 45 tonnes as Polyus Gold , the country's biggest gold producer, puts major new fields into production, a local official told Interfax.
"The launch of the Blagodatnoye and Titimukhta gold fields will drive next year's growth," said Mikhail Bershadsky, the territory's first deputy economics minister.
Each deposit is expected to produce 200,000 ounces of gold in 2010.
The Titimukhta mine was actually started this year. Blagodatnoye should be launched in the second half of 2010, and will be capable of producing 412,000 oz of gold from 6 million tonnes of ore per year. Polyus Gold estimates capex in this project at $390.2 million.
Polyus Gold expects to raise gold production in Krasnoyarsk to 60 tonnes per year by 2015, depending how much infrastructure is put in place.
Polyus Gold's flagship mine, Olimpiada, is located in the Krasnoyarsk territory. It produced 873,000 oz or 27.15 tonnes of gold in 2008.
Polyus Gold mined 1.222 million oz of gold at in Russia-based mines last year.