AIM listed metal explorer Minco has signed an option agreement to buy a controlling interest in Tophor, a Russian company which has a mining and exploration licence in Buryatia in Siberia.
The property known as Vodorazdelnoye, near the border with Mongolia, contains an estimated gold resource of 920,000 tonnes at 26 grams a tonne gold. Minco says it believes the deposit has the potential to produce 90,000 ounces of gold a year by upgrading the resources.
Two large gold mines are already producing in the area, one controlled by High River Gold of Canada.
Minco has the option to purchase 52% of Tophor for $0.5m and the right to purchase the balance of shares over five years.
'We believe that Vodorazdelelnoye will, by upgrading the resources, provide Minco with a first class low cost producing mine in the medium term,' commented Minco Chairman Roger Turner. He added that the company plans to complete the next stage of the due diligence process as quickly as possible.
