ArmInfo. Polymetal will continue to search for buyers at the Lichkvaz field in Armenia, its last asset in this country. As the newspaper "Kommersant", The small producer Chaarat Gold had a preferential right to purchase, but he refused to buy because of the high content of arsenic in the ore. "The asset is good, we consider the chances for its implementation to be quite good," Polymetal told Kommersant.
The right to acquire Lichkvaz Chaarat received in the framework of the purchase from Polymetal of another Armenian field - Kapan. The total amount of the deal closed in January of the current year was $ 55 million, of which $ 10 million was paid in convertible Chaarat bonds. Now Polymetal has exchanged them for a 3.5% stake in Chaarat, which it cannot sell during the year. Chaarat has a preemptive right. The representative of Polymetal, commenting on the "Kommersant" question about the possibility of selling shares, said that while it was too early to talk about it. "However, we do not exclude that if Chaarat's business goes well and this is reflected in the rate of its securities, we'll leave the company with a profit," the company said. Chaarat shares are traded on the London Stock Exchange. After a year ago, the company was headed by ex-CEO of the En + Group Artem Volynets, the share price increased by 43%, to? 30. Market capitalization is? 120 million.
Earlier, ArmInfo reported that the Lichkvaz field is located in Meghri district, Syunik region in the south of Armenia, 380 km south of Yerevan. According to the historical assessment of the deposit, the estimated resources amount to 2.4 million tons of ore with a grade of 6.9 g / t, which corresponds to approximately 0.6 million ounces of gold equivalent / 18.7 tons /. In the mid-1990s, the Lichkvaz-Teiskoe field was owned by Iberian Resources. In 2008, the board of directors of the Australian company Tamaya Resources, which owns an 82.6% stake in Iberian Resources, announced the mothballing of a gold mining project at this field. According to the company, depreciation costs in Armenia were higher, and gold reserves were lower than expected. In this regard, the company decided to postpone work on additional exploration of the polymetallic Lichkvaz-Teiskoe deposit in Meghri, which was considered promising. According to preliminary estimates by Iberian Resources, gold reserves at this deposit amount to 17 tons. It is noted that the mineralization of the deposit turned out to be more difficult than expected, and the test work for organizing a cheaper production cycle was not successful. Tamaya Resources decided to curtail investment activities in Armenia and no longer invest additional resources, since the development of the field in Meghri requires very large funds. The preliminary cost of the investment program at 2009 prices was $ 65 million.
Note that, according to media reports, Chaarat Gold Holdings Limited, registered in the British Virgin Islands, has been investing in Kyrgyzstan for a long time, investing about $ 150 million here. The company has been implementing gold mining projects in two fields - Tulkubash, where from 2020 it is planned to produce 100 thousand ounces of gold annually and Kyzyltash. The reserves of the latter are estimated at 6 million ounces. The main shareholders of Chaarat are the head of the board of directors, the co-founder of Brunswick, Martin Andersson (33.4% of the shares and 6.1% of the votes in convertible bonds), the Chinese state-owned China Nonferrous International Mining Co. Ltd (CNIMC, 6.05%), Sarastro Group Limited with BVI (4.74%), UBS (3.9%) and management (3.12%). Chaarat shares since 2007 are traded on the LSE site.