MMC Norilsk Nickel won the auction to develop the Iisko-Tagulskaya area

Vostochno-Sayanskaya nickel company, representing the interests of MMC Norilsk Nickel,  won on Thursday an auction  for the right of geological  prospecting, exploration and mining of nickel, copper and metals of  platinum group in the Iisko-Tagulskaya area of Irkutsk region. The Vostochno-Sayanskaya nickel company paid 726 mln rubles for the license, with start payment of 110 mln rubles. Auction step was 11 mln rubles.

The Iisko-Tagulskaya area is situated on the territory of Nizhneudinski, Taishetski and Tulunski districts of Irkutsk region, bordering Krasnoyarsk territory on the West and Buryatia on the East.
The licensed site is 15,867 square kilometers. In accordance with Rosnedra estimations, predicted resources are 7.5 mln tn of nickel, 3.5 mln tn of copper and 750 tn of platinum group metals.  Tokti-Oy deposit of nickel, copper and platinum is known in the Iisko-Tagulskaya area.

MMC Norilsk Nickel has been prospecting Eastern Sayany, including the Iysko-Tagulskaya area, since 2003. Norilsk Nickel is also involved in exploration of the neighboring Kingashskaya site in Krasnoyarsk region. In 2007 MMC Norilsk Nickel initiated agreements with the state on financing prospecting and estimation of Eastern Sayany resources. The corresponding agreements were signed and geological exploration including drilling started. Thus, the Company’s data on geological structure and prospects of Iisko-Tagulskaya area is more extensive  than in the license particulars.

Firstly, Norilsk Nickel plans to carry out big-scale geological and geophysical works at Barbitayskaya and Mankresskaya sites located in the Kanskaya metallogenic zone:

Preliminary phase - first year:

• Aerogeophysical works on scale 1:25000 with complex CAGC, with the purpose of searching of ore-bearing tracts and platinum-copper-nickel ores.
• Land geophysical works by methods of magnetic exploration, gravitational exploration, electric exploration, geochemical works on scale of 1:10000 and mapping.

Exploring-evaluative phase – second year:

• Drilling and digging. 

In the third year the Company plans to undergo technological testing and substantiate technical and economic conditions of all discovered deposits and confirm ore resources in the State reserves committee of the Russian Federation.

The total capital expenditure on the exploration may comprise over 2.5 bln rubles. The geological will be done in alliance with BHP Billiton.