Polymetal completes acquisition of Altynalmas Gold

Polymetal International has completed its acquisition of Altynalmas Gold, the holding company for the Kyzyl gold project in Kazakhstan, from Sumeru Gold.The gold, silver and copper miner paid $318.5m in cash and $300m-worth of shares in Polymetal issued to Sumeru, equal to a 7.45% stake in the group enlarged share capital. Polymetal has previously said the project, which comprises the Bakyrchik and Bolshevik gold deposits in north-eastern Kazakhstan, offers an "excellent opportunity" to expand its existing reserve base with the addition of high grade gold deposits that have a long expected mine life and significant exploration upside. The acquisition will increase the group's gold equivalent reserves by around 50%, with a single large high-grade property containing 6.7m ounces of gold at 7.5g per tonne. However, it is not expected to have a material effect on earnings of capital expenditure in the current year, because a revised feasibility study with an updated reserve estimate for the Kyzyl Project is only expected to be ready by the fourth quarter of next year. Shares in the group had risen 0.57% to 527p by 13:02.NR