OREANDA-NEWS. July 01, 2010. OJSC “Polymetal” (LSE, MICEX, RTS: PMTL) (“Polymetal” or the “Company”) confirms that it has made a proposal to Fortress Minerals Corp (“Fortress”) to acquire a 100% interest in a company holding the mining license for the Svetloye gold deposit (the “Proposal”), for USD 9,250,000 in cash, reported the press-centre of Polymetal.   

As referred to in the Fortress’ press-release dated June 24, 2010, the Proposal was accepted by Fortress as a superior proposal to the pre-existing arrangement with MacRitchie Metals Pte Ltd.
The Proposal is subject to a number of conditions, including approval of the transaction by the Board of Directors of Polymetal.

The Svetloye deposit is located in the Russian Far East, in the Khabarovsk Territory, 220 kilometers southwest of Okhotsk, the access port for Polymetal’s Khakanja mine, and approximately the same distance from Khakanja itself.

In April 2009, Fortress reported a NI 43-101 compliant resource estimate for Svetloye of 20.1 million tonnes grading 2.2 g/t and containing 1.4 million ounces of gold. Polymetal believes trucking of high-grade ore from Svetloye to Khakanja for processing is feasible, a view based on positive experience at Yurievskoe.

“Svetloye represents a unique opportunity to broaden our late-stage exploration effort in the region and potentially add several years of mine life for Khakanja,” said Vitaly Nesis, CEO of Polymetal.