Kopy Goldfields buying stake in Khakassia gold producer Zolotaya Zvezda, will operate asset

MOSCOW. Nov 8 (Interfax) - Sweden's Kopy Goldfields has signed a deal to acquire a 25% stake in Khakassia-based gold miner Zolotaya Zvezda for 550 million rubles or around $8.9 million, the company said.

The asset's target gold production is around 5 koz in 2022. Zolotaya Zvezda holds 0.62 million oz in C1+C2 gold reserves plus 1.2 million oz of P1 gold resources.

Zolotaya Zvezda has been running heap leach bedrock mining gold projects since the mid-1990s. It currently operates three open pit mining projects and multiple exploration sites. Modernization and extension of the Maysky processing plant began in 2022, targeting capacity to increase to 250,000 tonnes of ore per annum and upgrade to direct leaching of gold ore. The commissioning of this project is expected in the second half of 2023.

Kopy Goldfields is buying the asset via its wholly owned subsidiary AG Mining. The acquisition will be financed through the group's available cash sources. The seller is a private owner.

Upon completion of acquisition, which is expected in November 2022, AGM via its subsidiaries prepares to take over operations of the project.

Zolotaya Zvezda says in a report that its owners as of January 2022 were Vladimir Volkov with 38% and Gleb Kostikov with a 68% stake.

Zolotaya Zvezda was established in 1996 on the basis of the Sayan mining cooperative. It develops the Mayskoye, Chazy-Gol and Elovoye gold deposits located in Khakassia.