A group of investors including the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), Russia’s sovereign wealth fund, the Russia-China Investment Fund and a leading Middle Eastern sovereign fund (Group), have completed a deal to acquire a 9.53 per cent stake in Intergeo, a metals and mining company and part of ONEXIM Group.
The investment is included in the list of the Intergovernmental Russian-Chinese Commission on Investment Cooperation initiated by RDIF and the Chinese Investment Corporation in 2014 to promote cross-border investment projects. The Investors will nominate Alexander Khloponin and Lev Kuznetsov as their representative on the Board of Directors of the Company.
The Group’s investment will promote further growth in the Company’s business, including the development of the Kingash and Ak-Sug polymetallic deposits, located in the Krasnoyarsk Territory and the Tyva Republic in Russia respectively. They have significant reserves of copper, nickel and a number of other non-ferrous metals. In particular, Kingash is the second largest nickel deposit in Russia, while Ak-Sug is one of Russia’s top-5 in terms of copper reserves. Total investments in the project aimed at developing the fields and constructing associated infrastructure will exceed RUB178 billion.
Kingash’s mineral resources include 2.4 million tonnes of nickel, 1.1 million tonnes of copper, 98,000 tonnes of cobalt, 52,000 tonnes of gold and 261 tonnes of platinum group metals, according to the JORC Code. The planned annual capacity of the mining and processing plant will be 520,000 tonnes of copper-nickel concentrate. Production is expected to begin in 2024.
Ak-Sug’s mineral resources include 5.1 million tonnes of copper and 121 tonnes of gold, according to the JORC Code. The planned annual capacity of the mining and processing plant is 500,000 tonnes of copper concentrate. Production is expected to start in 2023.
RDIF and partners’ investments in Intergeo are aimed at the implementation of the national projects “Labour Productivity and Employment Support” and “International Cooperation and Exports”.
Kirill Dmitriev, CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), says: “As part of our work within the Intergovernmental Russian-Chinese Commission on Investment Cooperation, established on the initiative of RDIF and the Chinese Investment Corporation to promote cross-border investment projects, we have attracted investments from Chinese investors in a Russian greenfield project aimed at creating, through Intergeo, one of the largest companies in the Russian non-ferrous metals sector. This investment is an example of the successful involvement of Chinese partners in a Russian project, implemented from scratch. The project is also expected to attract funding from a number of Chinese banks. The project will give significant impetus to the economies of the two Russian regions and help create over 10,000 jobs. The company’s products have significant export potential, including in the Chinese market. We highly appreciate the professionalism of the Intergeo team and their extensive experience in the mining industry, including the construction of the Bystrinsky Mining and Processing Plant, a global top-10 copper mining facility.”
Dmitry Privalov, CEO of Intergeo, says: “We are implementing a very ambitious project – creating, from scratch, the largest mining enterprise in modern Russia, focussed on a new, rapidly developing segment of non-ferrous metallurgy, the production of battery metals. The project includes the design and construction of two of the world’s largest ore mining and processing plants in underdeveloped regions of Russia. This will not only create a new industry leader, but is also a major economic development for our regions. We are confident that the arrival of new partners will allow us to realise our greatest ambitions both in the Russian and the promising Asian markets.”
