Russia’s Federal Mineral Resources Agency has granted a license to develop the Sukhoi Log gold deposit to SL Zoloto, a joint venture between miner Polyus and state conglomerate Rostec, Polyus said in a statement.
Polyus plans to perform additional geological survey and design a feasibility study with the help of international consultants in the next three or four years. After the feasibility study is done, the company will assess possible ways to develop the deposit.
SL Zoloto has a 51-49% shareholding between Polyus and Rostec. In January, Polyus said it planned to acquire an additional 23.9% stake in SL Zoloto from Rostec for around $141 million, after the license had been obtained.
The deposit located in the Irkutsk region accounts for 28% of all Russia’s gold resources. It has 1,656 tons of inferred gold resources under a B+C1+C2 category, 1,533 tons of silver and 522 tons of off-balance gold reserves. The Natural Resources and Environment Ministry said the deposit required 90-100 billion rubles of capital investments to produce 80-90 tons of gold and 20-25 tons of silver per year. (Prime/Ukrainian metal)