A company has paid more than $100m to win an auction for a licence to mine gold at the Kyuchus deposit in Arctic Russia – with one of the conditions the construction of a small modular reactor to provide power to the area.
Beloye Zoloto paid $107m for the licence, a price more than three times the initial tender price set by state mineral resource agency Rosnedra. The company won a tender in competition with five other bidders.
The Kyuchus deposit is near Tiksi on the Laptev Sea coast and is believed to hold more than 175 tonnes of gold.
It is in an area without existing infrastructure, including electricity grids, and the building of an SMR was part of the licence criteria. The plant will have a capacity of at least 35 MW and is to be ready for operation by 2028.
Beloye Zoloto paid $107m for the licence, a price more than three times the initial tender price set by state mineral resource agency Rosnedra. The company won a tender in competition with five other bidders.
The Kyuchus deposit is near Tiksi on the Laptev Sea coast and is believed to hold more than 175 tonnes of gold.
It is in an area without existing infrastructure, including electricity grids, and the building of an SMR was part of the licence criteria. The plant will have a capacity of at least 35 MW and is to be ready for operation by 2028.
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