Solidcore could invest $315.5 mln in Syrymbet tin project

MOSCOW. Aug 7 (Interfax) - Tin One Mining, a subsidiary of Solidcore Resources goldminer, and the Entrepreneurship and Industrial-Innovative Development Department of the local administration of the North Kazakhstan Region have signed a memorandum on implementing an investment project at the Syrymbet tin deposit, Solidcore said in a statement.

Following approval from the board of directors, Solidcore said that the company would invest at least 150 billion tenge, or over $315.5 million at the current exchange rate, to develop the deposit, as well as construct the mining and processing plant, and related infrastructure, according to preliminary estimates.

Syrymbet is the largest undeveloped tin deposit in Central Asia. Resources compliant with Joint Ore Reserves Committee (JORC) are estimated at 492,400 tonnes of tin at a grade of 0.4% and 91,400 tonnes of copper at a grade of 0.07%, or a total of 5.9 million ounces of gold equivalent.

Solidcore remains the second largest gold producer in Kazakhstan following the sale of its Russian business. A consortium of Omani investors led by Omani state-owned fund Mercury Investments International is the largest shareholder with a 31.7% stake.