OREANDA-NEWS. On 24 April 2009 was announced, that the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection has announced a tender for the development of the iron ore deposit Okolovskoe in the Stolbtsy District of the Minsk Region.

 “The objective of tendering is the selection of an investor, having all necessary financial resources and experience in developing mineral resources to develop the iron ore deposit Okolovskoe, and submitting the best investment offer to meet the requirements specified by the project terms and conditions of the concession contract,” reads the official invitation posted on the website.

“The main conditions are:

- the construction of a mining enterprise with a capacity of no less than 4 million tonnes per year to develop the deposit, and the completion of the project within no less than the 5-year period from the date of the signing of the concession contract;

- the construction of an ore mining and processing enterprise and production of metallized pellets within the period of no less than five years from the sighing of the concession contract;

- the transfer of production by the concessionaire to the State with a volume of no less than 15 (fifteen) per cent out of the total amount of the finished product of each type.”

“Legal entities of the Republic of Belarus and foreign organizations are admitted, provided they have submitted a tender accompanied by the investment offer to meet the main requirements of the concession contract for developing the iron ore deposit Okolovskoe.”

Fees for bidding are equivalent to U.S. USD 5,000 at the official rate of the National Bank of Belarus on the date of payment and are transferred to the national budget.

“The iron ore deposit Okolovskoe is located between the villages Shashkovshchina and Okolovo 19 kilometers to the north of the railway station Stolbtsy. The detailed exploration was done at the deposit in 2008. The mineral resources are presented by ferruginous quartzites. By industrial categories iron ore resources come to 145.5 million tones. The total iron content makes up 14.9%-31.7 %, and that of magnetite amounts to 8.01%-26.09%. The iron ores are suitable for the production of pellets with the metallizing level of 95.3% together with the associated components suitable for the production of amphibole and quartz concentrates. The hydrogeological conditions of the deposit are complicated. Due to the mining and geological features and according to the findings of a preliminary survey the recommended mine depth is 700 meters with an annual production of 4 million tonnes,” the statement reads.