MOSCOW, January 29 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's largest gold producer Polyus Gold [RTS: PLZL] announced on Tuesday it would start developing a gold field in East Siberia's Irkutsk Region.
At a meeting earlier today, the company's board of directors approved a project to develop the Verninskoye gold deposit, expected to produce 4.8 million metric tons of gold in 2010 and 6.4 million metric tons annually from 2011.
Investment in the deposit is estimated at 5.4 billion rubles ($220 million) from 1995 to 2011, Polyus Gold said.
The company's gold production in 2006 was 1.2 million troy ounces. Net profit calculated to International Financial Reporting Standards was $1.16 billion in 2006, or 930% more than in 2005, with earnings at $735 million, representing 55% year-on-year growth.
