Norilsk Made a Splash

Russian metals giant Norilsk Nickel announced Wednesday its Polyus gold arm is buying gold deposits in Siberia for $285 million roughly.

Polyus has bought already three deposits from the domestic diamond giant IG ALROSA, that will make Polyus a co-owner of Yakutia?s largest Nezhdaninskoe gold deposit, Kuranakhskoe ore field and Kyuchyus deposit, deputy General Director at GMK Norilsk Nickel Denis Morozov.

He added that $115 million has been paid in advance and that Polus will own a license holder/miner of 28-million gold deposit already in September.

The acqusition of the assets by Norilsk Nickel is a real sensation.

Actually Canadian gold firm Barrick Gold Corp. also pretended to have these assets.
Half a year ago, the company bought out 10 percent in Irish Celtic Resources Holdings Plc., which is licensed to produce from Nezhdaninskoe field. At the moment the Irish company had nearly agreed to exchange the assets with ALROSA. In the hope of rooting in Nezhdaninskoe deposit, Barrick Gold even bough the option for 51 percent in Nezhdaninskoe. The option expires December 31, 2006, and until recently, the Canadians has been in active talks with IG ALROSA, apparently never suspecting a rival.