OREANDA-NEWS. On April 06, 2007 the Company presented proposed flowsheets and potential economic and ecological effects of constructing the ore processing plant at the Albazino deposit to residents of the Polin Osipenko region of the Khabarovsk Territory, reported the press-centre of  JSC Polymetal. The Albazino deposit is an 82 sq. km. site located in the Polin Osipenko region of the Khabarovsk Territory - approximately 150 km. from Nikolaevsk-na-Amur. The project is being developed by Resources Albazino, a Polymetal subsidiary. In 2007, Polymetal is planning to begin preparation for constructing two plants for the Albazino project - an ore processing plant on site and a gold concentrate processing facility in Amursk. Preliminary studies indicate that between now and 2010 (when Albazino is preliminarily scheduled to come into operation), total CapEx for the project will be between $150 and $200 million.


According to the results of the hearing, residents of Polin Osipenko expressed no objections to the construction of the ore processing plant at the Albazino deposit. Given that construction will fully comply with all Russian regulatory and legislative requirements and that the deposit is located in a remote region, the Company believes that there will be no negative effects on local communities. During the hearings, local residents also expressed positive interest in the number of jobs that Resources Albazino may create in the region in the near future. Commenting on today’s announcement, Yury Degtarev, head of the Polin Osipenko adminstration, said: “Developing the Albazino deposit potentially creates new job opportunities for the local community, injects additional funds into the regional budget and allows for the further development of local infrastructure - particularly transportation infrastructure”.