Polyus Gold again waits for partners for Nazhdaninskoye deposit

The largest Russian gold miners and competitors Polyus Gold and Polymetal, according to the Kommersant’s information, have been in talks on jointly developing the difficult Nezhdaninskoye deposit of Polyus with refractory ores. According to analysts, the development of the asset will require up to $200 million. Polymetal has the funds and competence for the processing of refractory ores, but the company may not be interested in the Nezhdaninskoye deposit, as it has enough of its own projects, experts say.

The gold producing companies Polyus Gold of Suleiman Kerimov (Suleiman Kerimov Foundation and son of the businessman Said have 40.22% of shares) and Polymetal (the largest shareholders  of which are ICT Group with 19.76% of shares and PPF Group with 18.46%) have held negotiations on the possibility of joint development of the Nezhdaninskoye deposit in Yakutia, owned by Polyus, sources of the Kommersant familiar with the negotiations report. According to one of them, a scheme, on which Polymetal can partially pay for a stake in the project with money, and partially with investments is discussed. In addition, according to the Kommersant’s information, rather strict measures are stipulated to the companies and, in particular, Polymetal consistently invests in the project. The Kommersant’s interlocutors don’t say about what kind of amount they talk, but note that the project provides for the processing of 0.5 million tons of ore per year. But another source of the Kommersant notes that for Polyus "this is only one of many ongoing discussions and there is no tight deadline for the decision making". The companies declined to comment.