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Russian Tycoon Komarov Eyes Precious Metals After Pipe Sale
(Bloomberg) – Russian tycoon Andrey Komarov is targeting the mining of precious metals after selling ChelPipe PJSC, the pipe maker that made him a billionaire. people who are familiar with the matter and have asked not to be identified as private. He is also interested in investing in the Fedorova Tundra platinum and palladium project in the Murmansk region, the head of the depository company said in March. While demand for steel pipes declined during the coronavirus crisis, platinum group metal prices rose with supply disruptions and stricter emission rules increasing use by autocatalysts. Although gold has been put under pressure in recent months on bets for an economic recovery, prices are still historically high amid ultra-loose monetary policies around the world. A Komarov spokesman said he was considering investing in the Fedorova Tundra deposit in the future and that he was interested in mining projects in general, without expanding them. Zoloto Kamchatki’s press service declined to comment. Until last year, Zoloto Kamchatki was controlled by billionaire Viktor Vekselberg’s Renova, which sold it to Complexprom, a company owned by former Renova executives, a Renova spokesman said, without expanding. Komarov (54) bought it. his first stake in ChelPipe in the late 1990s, and he saw his wealth rise after rebuilding the company’s facilities and impressing the Kremlin. During a visit to a new site in Chelyabinsk in 2010, President Vladimir Putin said the modern layout made it look more like “Disneyland” than a pipe workshop. In March, Komarov sold its 86.5% stake in ChelPipe to rival TMK PJSC for 84 billion rubles ($ 1.1 billion). According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, the magnate’s fortune is now about $ 1.4 billion. The Kumroch deposit contains 34.4 tons (1.1 million ounces) of gold reserves, a representative of Zoloto Kamchatki said. It will start mining in 2025, with an expected annual production of as much as 5 tons. Komarov’s Atom Gold has already submitted documents to the antimonopoly service to approve the purchase of 75% and one share in the company that owns the Kumroch. license, the people said. The rest would be held by Zoloto Kamchatki, with the partnership sharing the risks of a major project, they said. The Fedorova tundra deposit is expected to produce as much as 250,000 tonnes of concentrate annually, mostly with PGMs, but also nickel, copper and gold. Fedorovo Resources took over the license from Barrick Gold Corp last year. (Updates to Kumroch Reserves in the Eighth Paragraph. An earlier version was corrected from the second paragraph to reflect the current ownership of Zoloto Kamchatki) For more articles like this, please visit us at Bloomberg.com stay ahead of the most trusted business news source. © 2021 Bloomberg LP