RE: Poly expanding operations.22 Mar 2022 15:29
Polymetal bought out a stake in the Novopetrovskoye polymetallic project from Rosgeo
Moscow. March 18. INTERFAX.RU - Moscow. March 18. INTERFAX - Polymetal bought a 25% stake in the Novopetrovskoye polymetallic deposit in Bashkiria from Rosgeologiya and consolidated the project, follows from the data of the SPARK-Interfax analytical system.
Polymetal confirmed the deal. Its amount is not disclosed. In 2020, Polymetal bought a 75% stake for about $7 million, and invested another $8 million in geological exploration of the deposit.
Rosgeologiya also confirmed the withdrawal from the joint venture, noting "the successful work of the enterprise, which has achieved positive results in geological exploration."
Polymetal had an option to buy out Rosgeo's stake in Novopetrovsk based on a reserve estimate, but the company decided to exercise it earlier - at the beginning of the year, the field resources were only announced, and the initial reserve estimate is expected in 2023.
Novopetrovsk's resources are estimated at 2.4 million ounces of conventional gold - 9.2 million tons of ore with an average grade of 8 g/t. Structure of recoverable value: copper - 37%, gold - 35%, zinc - 23%, silver - 6%.
Novopetrovskoye perfectly fits the criteria of Polymetal's long-term strategy, CEO Vitaly Nesis said earlier: it has high grades, has significant growth potential, and more than doubles the share of copper in Polymetal's resource base.
During 2020-2021, Rosgeo entered into a number of so-called junior joint ventures with large subsoil users, including Polymetal, Polyus, Seligdar, USM, and so on. The sale of a stake in Novopetrovsk is the first exit for Rosgeo from such an investment.
Polymetal is Russia's largest silver producer and one of the leading gold miners. The holding's enterprises are located in the Magadan and Sverdlovsk regions, the Khabarovsk Territory, Yakutia, Chukotka and Kazakhstan. The largest shareholders are the "IST" group of Alexander Nesis and partners (about 24%) and BlackRock funds (about 10%).
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