By Swann Collins, investor, writer and consultant in international affairs. Eurasia Business News, July 19, 2022

Polymetal, the largest producer of primary silver and the second largest gold producer in Russia, is considering the possibility of potentially selling the company’s Russian assets, reported today the company.

The mining group is considering changing its structure to ensure segregated ownership of assets depending on its jurisdiction. The Company confirms that it is investigating a possible spin-off of the Group’s assets in the Russian Federation (“Russian Assets”).

“If completed, the potential transaction will lead to the fact that the company will focus primarily on its activities in Kazakhstan, where more than 500 thousand ounces of gold are currently mined per year, and revenue in 2021 amounted to $ 984 million,” the report says.

The company also explained that a special committee of the board of directors, which included independent non-executive directors of the company, was created to assess the potential transaction.

The report clarifies that the possible sale of Russian assets will provide the market with the opportunity to adequately assess the company’s assets in Kazakhstan and reduce the risk of its current activities. “However, the evaluation of the potential deal is ongoing, and there is no certainty that the company will continue,” Polymetal said in a statement.

The Company confirms that the Opportunity will comply with all applicable international sanctions and regulatory requirements, including shareholder approval.

Read also : How to invest in gold

Additional announcements will be made as needed, reported Tatyana Chedaeva, Corporate Secretary of Polymetal.

Polymetal is one of the world’s ten largest gold producers and one of the five largest silver producers. The largest shareholder – the group “ICT”, owned by the oligarch Alexander Nesis and partners – controls 23.9% of the company’s shares while 75.2% of the shares are in free float.

On April 25, the company confirmed its FY 2022 production guidance of 1.7 Moz GE (1.2 Moz in Russia, 0.5 Moz in Kazakhstan). Revenue for the quarter grew by 4% y-o-y to US$ 616 million underpinned by higher gold prices and on the back of large historical sales/production gap in Q1 2021.

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© Copyright 2022 – Swann Collins, investor, writer and consultant in international affairs.