Elga coal deposit to be auctioned in Q1

The head of the Russian Federation's Federal Property Management Agency (Rosimushchestvo), Mr. Valery Nazarov, has announced the agency's plans to auction the Republic of Sakha Yakutia's (Yakutia) and Russian Railways' stakes in Elgaugol and Yakutugol, which hold the license to develop Russia's largest coal deposit, the Elga coal deposit, in the first quarter of 2007. The preparations for the auction of the Elga deposit were canceled last autumn because of a disagreement between Rosimushchestvo and Yakutia's government. Mr. Nazarov confirmed that a compromise on the issue had been reached with Yakutia in late December, and that at the current moment everything was ready, including the Elga deposit's valuation, for the auction. The Elga coal deposit is located in Siberia and holds an estimated 2.2 billion metric tons of coal reserves.