Canadian miner’s situation shows that it’s easier to announce plans to leave a pariah state than actually exit
Toronto-based Kinross Gold Corp., which said in early March that it was quitting Russia, is still running its Kupol gold mining complex — which means it will likely generate tens of millions of dollars in tax revenue and other payments for Vladimir Putin’s regime.
Kinross’ situation shows that it’s easier to announce plans to leave an international pariah state than it is to actually vacate smoothly. Earlier this week, the company disclosed that it paid US$195 million to the Russian government for the 2021 tax year in the form of taxes, royalties and fees.
Spokesman Louie Diaz said June 1 that the 2021 tax payments, which covered January to December of that year, were made in the 2021 calendar year but could not specify when exactly they occurred.
Diaz said Kinross continues to operate its Russian mines while it works to close a US$680 million sale to Jersey-based Highland Gold. He said the company would not benefit financially from its Russian operations.
For the rest of this article: https://financialpost.com/commodities/mining/kinross-gold-keeps-russian-mines-running-as-sale-drags-on