PLZL.L Regulatory News (PLZL)

16 Jul 2007 07:18

OJSC Polyus Gold16 July 2007 For immediate release Moscow, July 16, 2007 Polyus Gold launches Mill-3 at Olimpiada Mine in Krasnoyarsk Region OJSC Polyus Gold (RTS, MICEX and LSE - PLZL), Russia's leading gold producer,today announced the launch of a new mill (Mill-3) at its Olimpiada mine inKrasnoyarsk region. The Mill-3 became the largest sulfide ore processing plantin Russia. The official launch ceremony took place today, July 16, 2007, at Olimpiada mine.Governor of Krasnoyarsk region Alexander Khloponin, Chairman of the Board ofDirectors of Polyus Gold, and General Director of Polyus Gold Pavel Skitovichhave participated in the ceremony. The event was attended by the high levelofficials of the federal and local authorities. Chairman of the Board of Directors of Polyus Gold Sergey Batekhin, commenting onthe event said that "the shareholders of Polyus Gold consider development of theproduction facilities as one of the key priorities. The Company will continue toinvest into development of new deposits and construction of new state-of-the-artgold mining complexes as it goes in line with its long-term strategy envisaginga three-fold production increase by the year 2015". General Director of Polyus Gold Pavel Skitovich noted: "I am pleased that thelargest ore processing plant in Russia has been put into operation successfullyand on schedule. This represents a major step forward not only for Polyus Goldbut also for the whole Russian gold mining industry. Two-fold increase ofOlimpiada mine's ore processing capacity as well as further upgrade of theunique bio-oxidation technology will help us to unlock the rich potential of oneof the largest gold deposits in Russia". Pavel Skitovich also expressed hisgratitude to all Olimpiada's employees for the successful completion of Mill-3construction. The launch of the Mill-3 with a capacity of 5 million tonnes of ore per yearwill boost Olimpiada's sulfide ore processing capacity to 8 million tonnes,whereas the total ore processing capacity of the mine will be brought to 9.5million tonnes of ore per year. The new mill uses bio-oxidation technology whichhelps substantially increase gold recovery from sulfide ores. The technology wasadjusted for the northern climate conditions by Polyus' specialists and has beensuccessfully applied at Olimpiada Mine since 2001. Olimpiada deposit is one of the largest hard-rock gold deposits in Russia. Thelaunch of the Mill-3 will help to maintain the stable production level atOlimpiada Mine and will substantially increase the mine life. Note for editors: Polyus Gold is the largest gold producer in Russia. In 2006 its gold outputtotaled 1.2 million ounces. Headquartered in Moscow, Polyus Gold's operatingmines and development/exploration projects are located in five major gold miningregions of Russia - Krasnoyarsk, Irkutsk, Magadan, Amur regions and the Republicof Sakha (Yakutia). Olimpiada mine is located in Severo-Yeniseisk district of the Krasnoyarskregion, 500 km to the north of Krasnoyarsk. The mine processes oxide and sulfideores of Olimpiada deposit. Gold is currently produced at two mills: • Mill-1, which was commissioned in 1996, uses conventional hydrometallurgical technology to process rich oxidized ores, with a capacity of 1.5 Mtpa; and • Mill-2, which was commissioned in 2001, uses the biohydrometallurgical technology (bio-oxidation technology) to process refractory sulfide ores, with a capacity of 3 Mtpa. The bio-oxidation technology is based on bacterial leaching of sulfides. Thebacteria applied in the process are fed with ferrous sulfides turning them intooxides and are capable of living in chemically aggressive environment overalkaline, hydrogen, antimony and other substances. The microorganisms help todecompose refractory gold baring minerals. As a result gold recovery is raisedup to 90% compared to 30-40% in direct cyaniding of sulfide ores. For further information please contact Denis Davydov Head of Investor and Public Relations Tel.: +7 (495) 641 33 65 E-mail: pr@polyusgold.com This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange