OREANDA-NEWS. Polyus Gold (RTS, MICEX, and LSE – PLZL), Russia’s leading gold producer, is able to revise its estimate of reserves following completion of an international audit of reserves for the Natalka field, the country’s largest and world’s third largest gold deposit.

As a result of the revised estimate, Polyus Gold’s total P&P reserves now total 68.6 M Oz (2,100 t). This figure exceeds the reserves target of 68 M Oz which the company set for it’s 2015 strategic development plan and launches Polyus Gold into the “Top 5 Global Gold Companies” in terms of P&P reserves.

The auditors’ report was approved by Polyus Gold’s Board of Directors at a meeting held in Moscow on September 10, 2007. The audit of reserves according to JORC guidelines was performed by MICON International Ltd.

According to the auditors’ report Natalka P&P reserves comprise 40.8 M Oz (1,270.6 t) of gold with an average grade of 1.13 g/t. This calculation is based on a gold price of US$625/Oz; cut-off grade of 0.3 g/t; average dilution of 7%, and recovery rate of 87% .

Earlier in December 2006, Natalka reserves were listed with GKZ RF as 1500.8 t under В+С1+С2 category of which В+С1 accounts for 1,282.9 t. The auditors’ reports also indicate considerable additional reserve potential as more geological data becomes available. The full report is published and available on Polyus Gold’s web-site under /Investor relations/Reports/International Audit of Reserves.

Commenting on the announcement, Pavel Skitovich, CEO of Polyus Gold, said,”the international audit of the Natalka deposit fulfills a key strand of Polyus Gold’s forward looking strategy. We have set ourselves three targets of i) reserves, ii) marcap and iii) production volume, for which we aim to be ranked in the top 5 in all three sectors by 2015. I am delighted that we have reached one of these targets 8 years ahead of schedule. We will not rest until the remaining two targets have been reached on time as well.”

Pavel Skitovich also noted that Knight Piesold, an internationally renowned gold engineering consultancy, will complete on schedule, its pre-feasibility study for Natalka by the end of 2007. A full scale bankable feasibility study on the project is due in Q1 2008. The Natalka mine is expected to have processing capacity of 40 Mtpa of ore, and annual gold production above 1 M Oz. Natalka field is developed by OJSC Matrosov Mine, a subsidiary of Polyus Gold.