Polyus Gold announces amendments to a license for development of the Natalka gold deposit in the Magadan Region. Under the amendments approved by the Federal Mineral Resources Agency, the expiration date of the license has been extended to December 31, 2036, while the launch a first stage of an ore mining and processing plant is scheduled for up to December 31, 2013.

Construction of Russia’s largest mining and processing plant at the Natalka deposit in the Magadan Region will be implemented in accordance with the company’s development strategy and the design project for construction of the mining and processing plant, approved by the company’s board of directors in December 2010.

The launch of the first stage of the plant will allow a gold mill at the deposit to produce over 18 tonnes of gold annually. After reaching the plant’s designed processing capacity of up to 40 million tonnes of ore per year, the mill will be able to produce about 50 tonnes of gold.

OJSC Polyus Gold is Russia’s leading gold producer and one of the world’s largest gold mining companies in terms of market capitalization, mineral reserves base and output. The Company’s asset portfolio includes hard-rock and alluvial deposits in the Krasnoyarsk, Irkutsk, Magadan and Amur Regions, the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia). The company produced 1.4 m oz of gold in 2010.

For further information please contact:

For investors:
Alexey V. Chernushkin, Director, CM and IR
Evguenia V.Buydina, IR manager
 +7 (495) 641-3377 
 +7 (495) 785-4031 
ir@polyusgold.com

For media:
Anton A. Arens, PR Director
 +7 (495) 641-3365  [Звонок: +7 (495) 641-3365]
 +7 (495) 544-5496  [Звонок: +7 (495) 544-5496]
pr@polyusgold.com