OREANDA-NEWS. On December 10, 2007 JSC “Polymetal” (LSE, MICEX, RTS: PMTL) (“Polymetal” or the “Company”), through its subsidiary JSC “Gold of Northern Urals”, was granted a license for geological exploration of Volchansky prospect, located in the Sverdlovsk region of Russia, 40km north of Voro, Polymetal’s operating mine, reported the press-centre of JSC “Polymetal”.

The license covering 31,5 square kilometers was issued on December 4, 2007 by the Federal Subsoil Agency (Rosnedra) and will expire on December 31, 2012 unless, as a result of Polymetal’s exploration effort, a deposit is discovered, in which case it will be converted into exploration and mining license.

The Company’s payments associated with the license amount to on-time issuance fee of 11,900 roubles (US$485) and regular payments of 8,363 roubles (US$340) per annum.
 
Volchansky prospect lies within the same ore zone as Voro (Krasnoturinsk ore zone) and shares similar gold mineralization pattern with this deposit. According to the licensing agreement, quantifiable potential of the prospect is 20 tons of gold (c. 0.6Moz), half of which fall under Russian C2 category and the other half — under Russian P1 category. Russian P3 category estimates amount to 60 tons of gold (c. 2Moz) which, if materialize, can make Volchansky a deposit comparable to Voro by size. The high potential of the prospect is also characterized by existence of large placers out of which 18 tons (c. 0.6Moz) of alluvial gold was produced historically.

JSC “Polymetal” (LSE, MICEX, RTS: PMTL) (“Polymetal” or the “Company”), through its subsidiary JSC “Gold of Northern Urals”, was granted a license for geological exploration of Volchansky prospect, located in the Sverdlovsk region of Russia, 40km north of Voro, Polymetal’s operating mine.

The license covering 31.5 square kilometers was issued on December 4, 2007 by the Federal Subsoil Agency (Rosnedra) and will expire on December 31, 2012 unless, as a result of Polymetal’s exploration effort, a deposit is discovered, in which case it will be converted into exploration and mining license.

The Company’s payments associated with the license amount to on-time issuance fee of 11,900 roubles (US$485) and regular payments of 8,363 roubles (US$340) per annum.

Volchansky prospect lies within the same ore zone as Voro (Krasnoturinsk ore zone) and shares similar gold mineralization pattern with this deposit. According to the licensing agreement, quantifiable potential of the prospect is 20 tons of gold (c. 0.6Moz), half of which fall under Russian C2 category and the other half — under Russian P1 category. Russian P3 category estimates amount to 60 tons of gold (c. 2Moz) which, if materialize, can make Volchansky a deposit comparable to Voro by size. The high potential of the prospect is also characterized by existence of large placers out of which 18 tons (c. 0.6Moz) of alluvial gold was produced historically.

“The new license that we got in a close proximity to Voro at a very low price is another example of our disciplined and focused approach to exploration,” said Vitaly Nesis, CEO of Polymetal. “We concentrate only on those regions where we operate, we know what we are looking for, and we know what we are going to do with what we find”.

Volchansky is the fifth license in the Sverdlovsk region Polymetal acquires in 2006-2007 executing its strategy of active exploration aimed at increasing resource base for existing operations and developing new stand-alone projects. The Company is planning to spend US$ 3 million on exploration and drill 15 kilometers at Volchansky during the next 30 months.
Volchansky is the fifth license in the Sverdlovsk region Polymetal acquires in 2006-2007 executing its strategy of active exploration aimed at increasing resource base for existing operations and developing new stand-alone projects. The Company is planning to spend US$ 3 million on exploration and drill 15 kilometers at Volchansky during the next 30 months.