ALROSA has received licenses from Rosnedra for the Taezhnoe, Desovskoe, Tarynnakhskoe and Gorkistoe deposits in Yakutia.
Photo: Alexander Miridonov
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ALROSA Gets Iron Deposits in Yakutia
The ALROSA company has begun a massive project to develop iron deposits in Yakutia. The company has received licenses from the Federal Agency for Mineral Use (Rosnedra) for the Taezhnoe, Desovskoe, Tarynnakhskoe and Gorkistoe deposits for the starting price of $225 million. It will have to spend an additional $10 billion to create ore processing facilities. Although the project is part of the conception for the state South Yakutia Development Corp., ALROSA is planning on spending mostly its own funds.
ALROSA was the only contender for the 20-year rights to the deposits. It made the payment of the starting price for the lot on March 18. Another declared contender, OOO Sibmining, failed to do so. The competition was declared invalid, but officials still had the legal right to grant the licenses to ALROSA.
The Taezhnoe and Desovskoe deposits lie in the Neryungri District. Their reserves exceed 1.5 billion tons in categories B, C1 and C2, both above- and underground. The Tarynnakhskoe and Gorkistoe deposits are located in the Olekminsk and Kalar Districts. They have total reserves of over 3 billion tons in categories B, C1 and C2. The conditions of the competition require that the winner present a proposal for two ore processing plants at the deposits within six months. Mining is to begin within seven years, and the entire project is to be in operation within 12 years. One of the deposits has not been fully explored yet.
Analysts note that the concentration of ore at the deposits is relatively low, and thus the profitability of the mines will also be low. The South Yakutia Development Corp. plans to implement a number of infrastructure projects in the region, but ALROSA spokesmen say that the company will pay for the development of the iron deposits with its own funds and through loans. The company intends to continue branching out from its traditional specialization in diamonds and participate in other competitions for Yakutian deposits.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of Apr. 23, 2008
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