Sept. 8 – Canada’s Kinross Gold Corporation has purchased one of Russia’s largest gold and silver ore deposits in the Chukotka region of the Russian Far East, company press release stated.
Kinross plans to process ore from the Dvoinoye deposit at the existing Kupol mill, pursuant to an ore purchase agreement with Kinross’ 75 percent owned Chukotka Mining and Geological Company.
“We are pleased that an operator with an excellent track record in the region is making further investment in the gold industry in Chukotka. We fully support Kinross’ operations in Chukotka and the Russian Federation,” said Roman Kopin, governor of the Chukotka region.
The transaction entails the indirect acquisition of 100 percent of the participatory interests in Northern Gold LLC and Regionruda LLC, the owners of the Dvoinoye and Vodorazdelnaya exploration and mining licenses.
The deal was approved by the government’s foreign investment commission at the beginning of August.
The Dvoinoye deposit currently hosts an open pit mine which the owner has operated six months per year, with throughput of approximately 250 tons per day. Kinross plans to develop the Dvoinoye operation as a larger underground mine, and to transport the ore to the Kupol mill for processing.
The Vodorazdelnaya property encompasses approximately 922 square kilometers and includes an exploration and mining license.
The transaction will allow Kinross to leverage its existing Kupol facilities, eliminating the need for construction of an additional processing plant, and allow for blending of Kupol ore with higher-grade Dvoinoye ore.
“This acquisition is a valuable addition to a world-class asset, which will allow us to bring additional high-grade resources to existing facilities,” said Kinross President and CEO Tye W. Burt.
“Kinross has demonstrated its strong commitment to responsible mining in Russia at Kupol and we look forward to building on this foundation at Dvoinoye,” he added.
According to local authorities, more than 10 tons of gold have been extracted from the Kupol deposit over the first six months of 2010.
