PJSC Polyus
PJSC Polyus (MOEX — PLZL) («Polyus», or the «Company»), the largest gold producer in Russia, announces the results of the review of the Company’s Ore Reserves and Mineral Resources as at 31 December 2016 in accordance with the JORC Code 2012.
Polyus’ Proved and Probable (P&P) Ore Reservesequate to 71 moz of gold andits Measured, Indicated and Inferred (MI&I) Mineral Resources standat 193 moz. Correspondingly,Polyus ranks second by attributable gold reserves (after Barrick Gold) and third by attributable gold resources(after AngloGold and Barrick Gold) among the world’s largest gold mining companies.
A maiden estimate of the JORC Mineral Resources for Sukhoi Log has been made at 58 moz and included in the Group figures. The ore reserves at the asset have not yet been estimated.
The following data has been drawn from the June 2017 Competent Person’s Report (CPR), on the Mineral Assets of Polyus, as prepared by AMC Consultants Pty Ltd (AMC).
Ore Reserves Highlights
- Polyus’ Ore Reserves amounted to 71 moz of gold.
- Over 70% of the Company’s Ore Reserves are located at the operating assets. With the inclusion of Natalka, where production will be commissioned by the end of 2017, this share increases to 95%:
- The Krasnoyarsk Business Unit has the largest share of the Company’s reserves, with 30 moz of Ore Reserves reported at Olimpiada and 10 moz at Blagodatnoye.
- Ore Reserves at Verninskoye and Kuranakhwere recorded at 5.3 moz and 4.5 moz, respectively.
- Natalka, Polyus’ main greenfield project, has estimated Ore Reserves of 16 moz.
- Sukhoi Log’s Ore Reserves have not yet been estimated and the Company expects these to be included in its reserve statement before the end of 2019. The asset was acquired in February 2017 and additional exploration work has started.
- Whilst the average Ore Reserve grade is estimated at 1.8 g/t, it stands at 2.0 g/t when excluding estimates for Alluvial operations and lower grade ore for heap leaching operations at Kuranakh and Blagodatnoye.
Mineral Resources Highlights
- The Company’s Mineral Resources stand at 193 moz largely reflecting the inclusion of 58 moz of Inferred Mineral Resources for Sukhoi Log2.
- Almost 50% of the Company’s Mineral Resources are attributable to operational mines:
- Olimpiada’s Mineral Resources are estimated at 46 moz.
- Blagodatnoye’s Mineral Resources stand at 19 moz.
- Verninskoe and Kuranakh’s Mineral Resources include estimates of 12 moz and 9.2 moz, respectively.
- Natalka Mineral Resources amount to 34 moz.
- First mineral resources estimates for Sukhoi Log indicate the deposit contains 58 moz of gold grading 2.0 g/t. This corresponds to the latest available Russian standards GKZ (C1+C2) estimate of 62.8 moz grading 2.1 g/t.
JORC Ore Reserves and Mineral Resources estimated as at 31 December 2016.3
| Deposit4 | Ore Reserves | MI&I Mineral Resources5 | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Proved & Probable | Total | |||||||||||
| Tonnes (mt) |
Grade (g/t) |
Gold (moz) |
Tonnes (mt) |
Grade (g/t) |
Gold (moz) |
|||||||
| Operating | ||||||||||||
| Olimpiada | 316 | 3,0 | 30 | 474 | 3,0 | 46 | ||||||
| Blagodatnoye | 223 | 1,4 | 10 | 420 | 1,4 | 19 | ||||||
| Titimukhta | 12 | 2,4 | 0,91 | 13 | 2,5 | 1,1 | ||||||
| Verninskoye | 96 | 1,7 | 5,3 | 237 | 1,6 | 12 | ||||||
| Alluvials6 | 105 | 0,34 | 1,1 | 277 | 0,23 | 2,1 | ||||||
| Kuranakh | 136 | 1,0 | 4,5 | 248 | 1,2 | 9,2 | ||||||
| Mine in Construction | ||||||||||||
| Natalka | 293 | 1,7 | 16 | 558 | 1,9 | 34 | ||||||
| Development and Exploration Projects | ||||||||||||
| Sukhoi Log7 | 0,0 | 0,0 | 0,0 | 887 | 2,0 | 58 | ||||||
| Panimba | 0,0 | 0,0 | 0,0 | 40 | 2,0 | 2,6 | ||||||
| Poputninskoye | 0,0 | 0,0 | 0,0 | 42 | 3,2 | 4,3 | ||||||
| Zmeinoye | 0,0 | 0,0 | 0,0 | 2,9 | 4,6 | 0,43 | ||||||
| Chertovo Koryto | 62 | 1,5 | 3,1 | 75 | 1,5 | 3,6 | ||||||
| Bamskoye | 0,0 | 0,0 | 0,0 | 20 | 1,8 | 1,1 | ||||||
| Medvezhy | 0,0 | 0,0 | 0,0 | 6,5 | 1,8 | 0,38 | ||||||
| Total8 | 1 243 | 1,8 | 71 | 3 301 | 1,8 | 193 | ||||||
Competent persons
The Ore Reserves and Mineral Resources are classified and reported according to the JORC Code reporting requirements (including the attached Table 1 information for each estimate). The Competent Person’s statements and JORC Code Table 1disclosures for each estimate are published on the Polyus website.
ACPR on Polyus mineral assets has been prepared by AMC, a firm of independent geological, mining geotechnical, mine engineering and mine management consultants offering expertise and professional advice to the exploration, mining and mining finance industries.
The Competent Person responsible for the CPR is Mr Mark Chesher. Mr Chesherhas 30 years of experience in the mining industry in a broad range of operations, management and senior technical roles. He is AMC’s Open Pit Manager, based in Perth, Australia and is a Fellow and Chartered Professional of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy. The CPRis alsopublished on the Polyus website.
Polyus
Polyus is the largest gold producer in Russia and one of the top 10gold miners globally with the lowest cost position. Based on its 2016 Ore Reserves and Mineral Resources, Polyus ranks second by attributable gold reserves and third by attributable gold resources among the world’s largest gold mining companies.Polyus group’s principal operations are located in Krasnoyarsk, Irkutsk and Magadan regions and the Sakha Republic (Yakutia).
Enquiries:
Investor Contact
Victor Drozdov, Director Investor Relations
+7 (495) 641 33 77 drozdovvi@polyus.com
Media contact
Victoria Vasilyeva, Director Public Relations
+7 (495) 641 33 77 vasilevavs@polyus.com
Forward looking statement
This announcement may contain «forward-looking statements» concerning Polyus and/or Polyus group. Generally, the words «will», «may», «should», «could», «would», «can», «continue», «opportunity», «believes», «expects», «intends», «anticipates», «estimates» or similar expressions identify forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include statements relating to future capital expenditures and business and management strategies and the expansion and growth of Polyus’ and/or Polyus group’s operations. Many of these risks and uncertainties relate to factors that are beyond Polyus’ and/or Polyus group’s ability to control or estimate precisely and therefore undue reliance should not be placed on such statements which speak only as at the date of this announcement. Polyus and/or any Polyus group company assumes no obligation in respect of, and does not intend to update, these forward-looking statements, except as required pursuant to applicable law.
1The reported estimates of Measured and Indicated Mineral Resources are inclusive of those Mineral Resources modified to estimate Ore Reserves.
2Sukhoi Log Mineral Resource estimate is as at 21 February 2017.
3Source: AMC CPR
4The estimates for all deposits are presented on a 100% basis.
5The reported estimates of Measured and Indicated Mineral Resources are inclusive of those Mineral Resources modified to estimate Ore Reserves.
6For the Alluvials, cubic metres (m3) have been converted to tonnages using the general bulk density factor of 1.85 t/m3 strictly for the purpose of the summary accumulations. Gold grades have been adjusted from g/m3 to g/t accordingly. Contained gold estimates are not affected.
7Sukhoi Log Mineral Resource estimate is as at 21 February 2017.
8Any minor discrepancies for sums in the table are related to rounding.