Russian miners eye TSE listing

The Lebedinsky mine, Russia’s biggest iron ore operation, is seeking to have its securities listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

General Director Anatoly Kalashnikov told a Moscow press conference that Lebedinsky hopes to raise up to $2 billion by doing so.

He would not say when the company proposed to venture into foreign equity markets, though he indicated that these efforts would involve the support of Price Waterhouse.

Meanwhile, on the diamond front, a Russian government commission for state secrets has tentatively decided to declassify the listed reserves of the Lomonosov diamond field in Arkhangelsk region. The announcement was made by Deputy Prime Minister Vladimir Bulgak during a visit to that part of northwestern Russia.

The next step is to define how much information should be declassified, so as to encourage Russian and foreign investors to finance development of the diamond field. Russian officials indicated that this would be done by an existing commission that is studying problems related to the Lomonosov field.

Lomonosov is the only known diamond field in European Russia. Seven kimberlite pipes, spaced about 9 km apart, have been examined.

Bulgak said Russian diamond production annually accounts for more than 100 million carats, or about a quarter of world production. The potential volume of extraction in Arkhangelsk region is estimated at 1 million carats per year.

Vitaly Fortygin, president of diamond producer Severalmaz, says commercial production at the Lomonosov field could begin in 18 months to two years. He estimated necessary investments in the project at US$740 million.

He says that, by initial counts, the Lomonosov field contains proportionally a greater percentage of gem-quality diamonds than does those in the Republic of Yakutia.

— from reports by Interfax News Agency.