OREANDA-NEWS. Severnaya Zolotorudnaya Kompaniya (northern gold mining company), a subsidiary of Severstal, a Russian mining and steel company, has won an auction for the geological exploration and gold extraction rights at the Sagan-Golsky gold field in the Buryatiya Republic. The auction was held by the Subsurface Management Department of the Buryatiya Republic on September 20, 2007, Severstal's information department disclosed.

Severnaya Zolotorudnaya Kompaniya's winning bid was 2.6 million roubles from a starting price of 1.5 million roubles. According to Severstal's estimates, the P1+P2 gold index in this field is predicted to be 60 tons. The license lasts for 25 years.

According to the terms of the auction, Severnaya Zolotorudnaya Kompaniya can begin geological exploration of the field within 15 months time. Expected approval for the mine's construction project is due no later than January 2014.