Russian steelmaker Evraz has announced that it has signed an agreement to acquire a stake in the Timir joint venture project for a total consideration of RUB 4.950 million (approximately $160 million) to be paid in several instalments. At completion, Evraz will receive a 51 percent stake in Timir, while Russian state-run diamond miner Alrosa will own 49 percent minus one share and Vnesheconombank will receive one share.
Timir is a joint venture between Evraz and Alrosa created for the development of iron ore deposits and currently holds licences for four iron ore deposits (Tayozhnoye, Desovskoye, Tarynnakhskoye and Gorkitskoye) in the southern part of Yakutia in Russia with a total mineral resource base under Russian geological classification of 3.5 billion mt (including Russian geological categories of A, B, and C1).
Total investments in the first phase of the Timir project are expected to amount to approximately $1.8 billion during the period from 2013 to 2018.
The implementation of the whole Timir project should eventually create 11,000 new jobs, including 4,000 positions at the Tayozhnoye ore mining and processing plant.