China to Invest $8Mln in Development of Silver Deposit in Russia’s Far East

China’s South West Mining Company is set to invest 400 million rubles ($8 million) in the development of a silver and antimony deposit in the Kolyma region in Russia’s Far East in 2015, and build 130 kilometers of roads connecting the deposit with a nearby settlement.

China's South West Mining Company has signed an agreement with the authorities of the Kolyma region in Russia’s Far East for the development of a silver and antimony deposit in the region.

“The company agrees to invest about 400 million rubles ($8 million) into the development of the deposit and build 130 kilometers of road connecting the deposit with the nearby settlement and mining and processing complex,” the authorities stated.

The company is currently involved in field infrastructure development works; it is set to conduct computations and report and approve an estimate of the deposit's reserves alongside Russia’s State Commission on Mineral Reserves this year.

At the same time, the company is searching for a land plot for the construction of a mineral separation plant for the processing of antimony ore. The Chinese workers are slated to arrive in the region later this month.

The Kolyma-Verkhoyansk fold belt, which extends along the northeast margin of the ancient Siberian Sakha-Yakutia platform and through the North-Eastern territories of Russia, is home to numerous Sn-Ag-Pb-Zn deposits.

Chinese companies have repeatedly expressed an interest in the development of gold, silver and other metals in the region.