10
July
2006
A solemn ceremony devoted to the start of the processing facility construction took place at the location of the Ozernoye future open-pit. Mr. Mikhail Slipenchuk, IFC METROPOL Director General; Mr. Ivan Kalashnikov, Deputy Chairman, People’s Hural of the Republic of Buryatia; Mr. Oleg Mikhailenko, Director General of East Siberian Metals Corporation, representatives of design and scientific organizations, journalists from federal and foreign mass media participated in the event.
Construction of the processing facility is scheduled for 2007,
according to Mr. Mikhail Slipenchuk. The company is going to
receive the first million of tons of ore in 2008 already. ‘We
are going to invest at least $ 1 billion into this sector in 4-5
years. This year, we will complete construction of a rotational
village for 500 workers in the Eravnino District, and will start to
restore a highway. Upon completion of construction of the
Ozerny processing facility, we are going to start work in the
Kholodninskoye and Yermakovskoye deposits,” he noted.
President of Buryatia Leonid Potapov promised to render every
assistance to developers of the Ozerny polymetal deposit. He made
the same statement earlier, at a meeting with top managers of
METROPOL Group of Companies and of East Siberian Metals Corporation
and also with representatives of the Swedish Lundin Mining
Corporation, which will be in charge of implementation of the
project’s technical project.
The Ozernoye field is located at 300 km to the northeast off Ulan
Ude, the capital of the Republic of Buryatia. It is well known and
has been extensively explored in the 1970’s / 1980’s but no
production was carried out. In addition to lead and zinc, the
deposit contains much silver. The mineral reserves are estimated at
157 million tons. Currently the rights to develop the deposit fully
belong to METROPOL Group of Companies. East Siberian Metals
Corporation established in 2005 manages the project. Fixed assets
belong to Ozerny Processing Facility OJSC.
