"This year we will complete revaluation of the deposit's reserves and are prepared to license it from next year," Alexei Varlamov told a meeting of the government commission for the social development of the Far East and the trans-Baikal area.
Varlamov said the Sukhoi Log gold deposit has unique reserves, which were previously considered unprofitable. However, new technologies have raised its investment appeal, he said.
Sukhoi Log, believed to have at least 1,000 metric tons of gold, is currently on the list of Russia's unallocated mineral resources. After a bill on foreign investment in Russia's strategic sectors is passed, the government is expected to include the gold field in the list of strategic deposits that can be controlled only by residents.
Vice-Premier Sergei Naryshkin earlier said the government would submit the bill to the State Duma, the lower house of the country's parliament, in the near future.
