JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Russian gold major Polyus has moved to gain 100% ownership of the Sukhoi Log licence – one of the world’s largest untapped gold deposits.
The company announced this week that it had entered into a number of option agreements with a subsidiary of State-owned Rostec to acquire an additional 25.1% participation interest in Sukhoi Log for $145.9-million.
Polyus will pay for the interest in shares over the next five years.
In December, Polyus entered into a cash option agreement with Rostec to acquire a 23.9% stake in the deposit for $139-million. The first option was exercised in May this year, increasing the gold miner’s interest in the deposit to 54.6%.
Sukhoi Log has an estimated mineral reserve of 887-million tons at a grade of 2 g/t for 58-million ounces of gold.