Polymetal International

Polymetal Group of companies was founded in 1998 in Saint Petersburg by Alexander Nesis of ICT Group[2] and since then it has built a portfolio of gold and silver mines in Russia, Kazakhstan and Armenia.[3] In October 2011, Polymetal successfully completed the placing of £491m of shares on the London Stock Exchange, valuing the company at £3.55bn and making it the first Russian-founded company to obtain a premium listing at the LSE.[4] In December 2011 Polymetal International became one of the first two Russian-originated companies to be included in the FTSE 100 Index.[5] In 2016, Polymetal was ranked as the 9th best of 92 oil, gas, and mining companies on indigenous rights in the Arctic.[6]

Polymetal's open pit mine in Khabarovsk. Image source: ICT Group

The company is the third global primary silver producer, the largest silver and the fourth gold producer in Russia.[7] It produced 810 Koz of gold equivalent in 2011. Production output in 2011 consisted of 55% gold, 41% silver and 4% copper.[8] In 2008 it produced 17.2 million ounces of silver and 285,000 ounces of gold.[9]

Polymetal owns gold and silver mines and carries out exploration activities in six regions of Russia (the Magadan Region, the Khabarovsk Territory, the Sverdlovsk Region, the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Republic of Karelia and Sakha Republic), Kazakhstan and Armenia. Its portfolio of projects contains 36 licences covering a territory of over 7,800 km². The Group organises its operations into six operational units, which are categorised into centralised processing hubs and stand-alone mines.[3]

Hubs:

• The Dukat hub consists of the Omsukchan concentrator, which processes ore from the Dukat and Goltsovoye mines, and the Lunnoye processing plant, which processes ore from the Lunnoye and Arylakh mines, as well as concentrate from the Omsukchan concentrator.[3]
• The Amursk hub is Polymetal's largest project. It comprises two high-grade refractory gold deposits, Albazino and Mayskoye, the Amursk hydrometallurgical plant, the Albazino concentrator and the Mayskoye concentrator. First gold was poured at the Amursk POX facility in April 2012.[3]
• The Omolon hub consists of the Kubaka processing plant, which processes ore from the Birkachan mine and is expected to serve as a centralised processing facility for the operating Sopka mine, and other new mines.[3]

Stand-alone mines:

• The Voro stand-alone mine consists of the main production site with two open-pit mines and two processing facilities. It is also currently processing ore from two small satellite mines.[3]
• The Khakanja stand-alone mine consists of the main production site with open-pit mines and a processing plant. It is also currently processing ore from a small satellite mine and a trial mine at one of the advanced exploration projects.[3]
• The Varvara stand-alone mine, located in Kazakhstan, consists of a production site with an open-pit mine and a processing plant. The Company believes that due to its scale, location and transportation infrastructure, Varvara has the potential to become a processing hub in the future, treating ore from other deposits in the surrounding region.[3]

As of January 2015, Polymetal International plc had a free float of 51%.[10] The remainder was owned by Petr Kellner (18.55%), Alexander Nesis (19.86%) and Alexander Mamut (10.13%).[8]

• Official Polymetal International website