Miners in Tyva Republic to Subsidize Reindeer Breeding

Mar. 15 – The government of Siberia’s Tyva Republic has asked foreign and domestic miners operating in the region to pay subsidies to local reindeer breeders, according to the republic’s web site.

Under the agreement, China’s Longxing and the local Golevskaya Mining Company will allocate 600 rubles (US$20) for the maintenance of each reindeer in the Todzhinsky District of Tyva, where both companies operate and where 77 percent of the region’s reindeer population is located. The funds will go to the district’s reindeer breeding farms. Read the rest of this entry »

The Republic of Tuva and the State of Russian Coal Exports

Mar. 14 – Russia’s US$8 billion investment into Siberia to develop the Tyva Ulug-Khem Coal Basin, estimated to have 2.5 times more reserves than the Mongolian Tavan Tolgoi field, could double the country’s metallurgical coal exports by 2020.

“Annual coal production in Tyva may reach 40 million metric tons in 2020 should all the companies implement the announced plans in full,” Dmitry Sakhno, project manager at OAO Severstal, Russia’s second- largest steel producer, said in an interview with Bloomberg.

At the same time, according to Sakhno, the delays by some of the mining companies as well as complexity’s of developing the region may curb production by 2020 to 15 million to 20 million tons. Read the rest of this entry »

Russian Gold Production Increases, but Fails to Meet Expectations

Feb. 6 – Russian gold production rose 3.6 percent year-on-year in 2011 to 209 metric tons, but below an earlier forecast, data published on Wednesday by the Gold Industrialists’ Union industry lobby showed.

The union expected Russia to produce 211 tons of gold last year – up from 202 tons in 2010 – of which 185 tons was expected to be mined.

Despite missing expectations, Russia, whose reserves are second only to South Africa’s, managed to return to positive growth after annual output declined by 1.4 percent in 2010. Read the rest of this entry »

Russian Companies to Break into Brazilian Market

Nov. 8 – The Russian gas giant Gazprom opened an office in Rio de Janeiro last week, while another Russian oil producer TNK-BP announced an agreement to buy 45 percent of the Solimoes Basin project for US$1 billion from the Brazilian HRT Participacoes em Petroleo.

TNK-BP and HRT Participacoes em Petroleo will jointly produce oil and gas from fields near the Amazon, with first output expected next year.

“The discovery of major hydrocarbon deposits in Latin America and the high growth rates of natural gas consumption there provide for an effective development of partnership relations,” The Moscow Times reported a Gazprom official as saying. Read the rest of this entry »

Russia May Triple Gold Exploration

Oct. 20 – Canadian Kinross Gold Corp suggests Moscow should ease its subsoil legislation in order to triple the current investment in geological explorations for gold to US$1.6 billion a year.

Tye Burt, president and CEO of Kinross, the largest foreign investor in Russia’s gold sector, presented proposals on Monday within the framework of a meeting of the advisory council chaired by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. Read the rest of this entry »

Evraz to Construct New Coking Coal Mine in Siberian Kemerovo Region

Aug. 23 – Russian steel-maker Evraz Group has started construction of the Yerunakovskaya-VIII coking coal mine within its existing coal mining division Yuzhkuzbassugol in Russia’s Siberian Kemerovo region, the company said in a press release. Construction of the new mine will increase the level of vertical integration, providing its steel-making facilities with high quality coking coal.

According to the company’s statement, the total investment in the project will amount to approximately US$590 million spent over the next three years. The coal mine is planned to start operations by mid-2013. Read the rest of this entry »

Norilsk Nickel Corporate Airlines to Commence Regular Flights from Krasnoyarsk

Jul. 5 – OJSC MMC Norilsk Nickel, the world’s largest producer of nickel and palladium, announced the commencement of regular domestic and international flights of Taimyr Corporate Airlines (NordStar) from the Central Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk.

According to a company press-release, expanding the geographic span of flight routes is conducted in accordance with the airline communication development cooperation agreement concluded between MMC Norilsk Nickel and the government of the Krasnoyarsk region in 2010. Read the rest of this entry »

Arctic Port of Dudinka Resumes Operations after Spring Flooding

Jun. 8 – Russian metals giant Norilsk Nickel resumed shipments from its Arctic port of Dudinka after flooding prompted a seasonal halt. The port of Dudinka, the company’s main export outlet, resumed its operations on Sunday, Norilsk said in a press release.

Suspension of loading operations at Dudinka takes place annually in May and lasts approximately one month. During that period, Norilsk Nickel continues to fulfill its delivery obligations regardless of the timing of the commencement and completion of this planned operation. Read the rest of this entry »

Russia’s Largest Copper Deposit to Start Excavation Work

Apr. 27 – After decades at a standstill, engineers and geologists of LLC Baikal Mining Company started excavations in Russia’s largest copper deposit of Transbaikalia Region (Zabaikalsky krai) in East Siberia and hope the project will secure the region’s prosperity in the future.

Russia’s mining and steel company Metalloinvest, together with state-run Rostekhnologii, will carry out the project, which will need around US$5.3 billion in investment. Read the rest of this entry »

Canada’s Uranium One to be Listed on Russian MICEX

Apr. 8 – Uranium One Inc., a Vancouver-based producer controlled by Russia’s Atomredmetzoloto (ARMZ), is considering listing in Moscow to attract investors from Russia and Asia.

“Most of our shareholders are in North America. We would like to expand our shareholder base, particularly in Asia. We are considering a listing in Moscow,” Fletcher Newton, an executive vice-president of the company, said in an interview this Wednesday. Read the rest of this entry »

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