Polyus has registered its first climate project

Polyus PJSC (MOEX: PLZL) (“Polyus”, “the Company”) announces that its wholly owned subsidiary Polyus Krasnoyarsk JSC has successfully completed validation of and registered a climate project implemented at the Olimpiada and Blagodatnoye gold deposits in Krasnoyarsk Territory.

This is Polyus’ first project to be listed on Russia’s National Registry of Carbon Units operated by Kontur JSC.

Under the scope of the project, Polyus Krasnoyarsk constructed and upgraded several power substations and overhead power lines; some consumers at the Olimpiada and Blagodatnoye mines that used coal and petroleum fuel for power generation were reconnected to less carbon-intensive power supply from Rosseti PJSC grids.

The project is designed to reduce total greenhouse gas emissions of over 4.1 mln tonnes of CO2-e for the period to 2028.

The Yu. A. Izrael Institute of Global Climate and Ecology, acting as validator, confirmed that the project documentation complied with the validation requirements and criteria for climate projects.

Registering the project as climate-related allows Polyus Krasnoyarsk to issue carbon units for their further reallocation among the group’s companies or for sale.

Alexey Vostokov, Chief Executive Officer of Polyus PJSC, commented:

For more than five years, Polyus has been consistently reducing its carbon footprint. In 2021, the transition of the Company’s assets to hydropower energy and the acquisition of green certificates to offset the remaining small share of emissions allowed Polyus to cover 100% of its electricity demand from renewable energy sources. We are committed to securing this level.

Polyus Krasnoyarsk’s climate project is the Company’s first step in contributing to the development of the carbon market. In addition, we are testing and implementing new projects to reduce the carbon intensity of our operations. These may also become climate projects.

Oksana Gogunskaya, General Director of Kontur JSC, commented:

The fact that the registry has recorded Polyus’ climate project confirms the Company’s status as a responsible market player in combatting climate change and supporting sustainability. This ensures the reliability and transparency of future transactions with carbon units as well as the Company’s credibility in the market. It also provides the opportunity of using carbon units for various purposes, such as carbon offsets.

Amerkhan Varaev, General Director of the Center for Environmental Information Validation and Verification at the Yu. A. Izrael Institute of Global Climate and Ecology, commented:

The transition from fossil power generation to hydropower generation grids has a considerable potential for reducing the carbon footprint. Our Institute, which has more than 20 years’ experience in recording greenhouse gas emissions and sinks, confirms that Polyus’ project meets the climate project methodology.

Polyus

Polyus is a top five global gold mining company by production volumes and one of the largest gold miners in terms of attributable gold ore reserves. The Company has the lowest production costs among major global gold producers. Its principal operations are located in Siberia and the Russian Far East: Krasnoyarsk, Irkutsk and Magadan regions and the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia).

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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 of the date of this announcement. Polyus and/or any Polyus Company assumes no obligation in respect of, and does not intend to update, these forward-looking statements, except as required pursuant to applicable law.