OREANDA-NEWS. During the first nine months of 2006, gold production rose 2% to 186 th. oz., again primarily due to increased production capacity at Vorontsovskoye’s Stage II.

As previously forecast, the Company"s silver production declined 7% in the reported period to 12,965 th. oz.  This decline was due to long-term developments at the Lunnoye deposit, including: a lower average ore head grade and the transition from open pit to underground mining.

9-month gold sales increased 7% to 185 th. oz.  And the average sales price1 increased dramatically to 602 USD/oz., compared to 424 USD/oz. for the same period in 2005.  The average sales price of gold in Q3 "06 was 620 USD/oz. compared to 425 USD/oz.  in the third quarter of 2005.

Silver sales for the reported nine-month period (2006) were 12,927 th. oz. - a 7% drop from the previous year"s figures.  This fall-off is the result of a dip in silver production during the same period.   However, the average sales price of silver2 increased significantly to 8.8 USD/oz., compared to 7.1 USD/oz. in the same period in 2005.  Third quarter figures also mirrored this increase.  The average sales price for Q3 "06 was 8.9 USD/oz., compared to 7.1 USD in the same period in 2006.