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Celtic Drops Claims on Russian Goldfields
Norilsky Nickel’s subsidiary has become the major owner of the Nezhdaninskoye goldfield, the largest one in Yakutia. Ireland-based Celtic Resources said it is selling its 20 percent stake in Yuzhno-Verkhoyanskaya Mining Company, which holds the license for the field development, to Norilsky Nickel, owned by Interros. Celtic has thus waived the earlier claim on the disputable 30 percent in Yuzhno-Verkhoyanskaya Company.
Celtic Resources Holding and Yuzhno-Verkhoyanskaya Mining Company signed a tentative sale agreement early February. Celtic promised to drop all claims on the contested Nezhdaninskoye goldfield. Yesterday, Celtric announced closing the deal for $80 million.
The Nezhdaninskoye field has 470 metric tons of gold reserves. Up to 2005, Yuzhno-Verkhoyanskaya Mining Company (the operator of the field) was owned by Yakutskaya Mining Company (50 percent), Celtic Resources (20 percent), and Golden Invest Corp. and Davenport Ventures Ltd (30 percent), two offshore companies from British Virgin Islands. Alrosa sold Yakutskaya Mining Company to Polyus last September.
Concluding the deal, Celtic waived claims on the 30 percent of stocks owned by the offshore companies. Yuzhno-Verkhoyanskaya Mining Company secured a loan with the Zenit bank in 2001 against the stake which was later taken to the bank’s asset management. The bank later handed the stocks over to two offshore companies from Caiman Islands which later sold them to the two British Virgin-based offshore firms. Celtic contested the deal.
Alrosa announced the sale of Yuzhno-Verkhoyanskaya Mining Company to Norilsky Nickel last fall. Celtic suspected that the offshore’s 30 percent could also be sold. The court in British Virgin Islands banned the sale of 30 percent in Yuzhno-Verkhoyanskaya Company last September. Celtic also filed suits with seven courts in Russia.
Now that all the claims are withdrawn, Norilsky Nickel has become the major owner of Yakutia’s largest goldfield.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of May 19, 2006
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