Russian gold miner Polyus on Thursday provided an update on its Sukhoi Log project, one of the world’s largest untapped gold deposits. The news sent units of the company trading over the counter in the US up 3% for a market value of some $8.5 billion.
Polyus in May completed the scoping study and verification drilling programme at Sukhoi Log, located in the Irkutsk region of eastern Siberia, and is now entering the pre-feasibility stage with a study out early 2021.
The Moscow-based company, the world’s 7th largest listed gold producer, said it planned to make a final investment decision on Sukhoi Log, by 2020-2021 with a target for production start-up around 2026.
“We have made serious progress in the development of Sukhoi Log during the last 14 months following the acquisition of the licence,” chief executive Pavel Grachev said. “We see it as a cornerstone of the future development of Polyus.”
The company said it expected the capital outlay for construction to be $2 billion to $2.5 billion. Around $30 million will be spent on geological and engineering studies per year in the run-up to board approval for the project.
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