Start-up of the processing plant at Mayskoye

RNS Number : 4299C

Polymetal International PLC

16 April 2013

 



Release time	IMMEDIATE
Date	16 April 2013

Polymetal International plc

Polymetal announces the successful start-up of the processing plant at Mayskoye

Polymetal International plc (LSE: POLY) (together with its subsidiaries, including JSC "Polymetal" - "Polymetal", the "Company", or the "Group") is pleased to announce that the flotation concentrator at the Mayskoye mine was successfully started up, producing  its first dry gold concentrate.

The Mayskoye concentrator has a nameplate capacity of 850 Kt of ore per annum. The full ramp-up is expected to take six months, with design throughput and recoveries scheduled to be achieved in October 2013.

The concentrate produced will be stockpiled. until the start of the summer navigation period (July) Processing of the first batch of Mayskoye concentrate at the Amursk POX plant is scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2013.

Mayskoye, a high-grade refractory gold deposit, is one of the top five deposits in Russia in terms of gold resources. The Mayskoye project consists of an underground mine and a 850 Ktpa on-site flotation concentrator. The ore is processed by conventional flotation on site,  and the concentrate produced then shipped to Amursk POX plant and, potentially, to third-party off-takers. The mine is located in the Chaun district of the Chukotka Autonomous Territory in north-eastern Russia. The deposit is accessible all year round via 187 km of improved unpaved road from the town of Pevek, which is a major seaport operating from July to early November. Mayskoye ore reserves are estimated in accordance with the JORC code to contain 2.4 Moz of gold at 9.6 g/t, with additional mineral resources amounting to 4.8 Moz of gold at 8.3 g/t.

The underground mine at Mayskoye has been operational since the beginning of 2010, with 29,976 m of underground development completed during 2009 - 1Q 2013 and 280Kt of ore grading 9.2 g/t gold mined. Active stoping  commenced from 2013, with 145 Kt of ore mined in the first quarter of 2013.

"The start-up of the Mayskoye concentrator marks the successful completion of construction of the second generation of Polymetal's growth assets," said Vitaly Nesis, CEO of Polymetal. "This achievement underscores our project execution capabilities in a complex and distant location. During the rest of 2013, we will focus on the ramp-up of the processing plant and securing concentrate off-take arrangements".

Enquiries

Media		Investor Relations
College Hill Leonid Fink Tony Friend	[phone]	Polymetal Maxim Nazimok Evgenia Onuschenko Elena Revenko	[e-mail] [phone] (Russia) [phone] (UK)
Joint Corporate Brokers
Morgan Stanley Bill Hutchings Sandip Patodia	[phone]	Canaccord Genuity Roger Lambert Andrey Kroupnik	[phone]

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

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