Hambro digs in at Gulag site

ALTERNATIVE Investment Market-listed Peter Hambro Mining has expanded its Russian gold mining interests with a deal to excavate a site first exploited by Stalin using Gulag forced labour.

The UK mining minnow has paid Reagrove Services $6m cash (£3.6m) and $24m worth of new Peter Hambro Mining shares for the Tokur Deposit Mining licence, a 157km-long seam in the Amur region near the Chinese border.

Executive chairman Peter Hambro said about 16km, which contained less gold deposits per tonne, had huge potential with the advent of better quality extraction technology. 'We have the cashflows to work on it.'

The purchase brings to four the total number of Russian gold sites Hambro is exploring.

Hambro has increased its presence in the region and now has 19m ounces of gold capacity compared with 3m a year ago.