The Federal Service for the Oversight of Natural Resources said it has established that the company, the second largest gold producer in Russia, is failing to comply with licensing terms for prospecting work, and terms set out in project documents.
"The FSONR deputy head Oleg Mitvol has appealed to the Agency for the Management of Mineral Resources [subordinate to the ministry] to revoke five licensing agreements with which Peter Hambro Mining has failed to comply," the service said.
The UK firm holds over 50 licenses for prospecting work and mining, and the service said an inspection on five of these revealed violations of licensing terms, such as failure to meet the schedule for submitting project documentation, and violations of environmental laws, in particular the illegal use of water resources.
"It is astonishing that inspectors of the service's department for the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Area [northwest Siberia] fined the company 10,000 rubles [$375], although they had grounds to revoke the licenses," Mitvol said, adding that he would look into inspectors' activity.
Peter Hambro Mining, which produced 249,000 troy ounces of gold in 2005, is to be subjected to further inspections in the near future. The company's value is estimated at about $2 billion.
