The Russian investment and financial company Metropol has won a tender, held by the Tomsk regional authorities, to acquire a 51 percent stake in TomGDK-Ruda for Ruble 60 million (approx. $2.4 million). TomGDK-Ruda possesses a license to develop the Polynyansky district of the Bakcharsky iron ore deposit, which is located in the Tomsk region of southwestern Siberia.
Upon conclusion of the tender, Metropol and the Tomsk regional administration signed a cooperation agreement, establishing iron ore mining terms. In addition, the parties agreed to develop a production facility in the region to process iron ore and to produce finished steel products.
According to the terms of agreement, Metropol is to develop a project for the construction of an iron ore processing and steel mill to be named Bakcharskaya Steel by 2008, while the mill is expected to be put into operation no later than 2015. The mill's projected annual production capacity is estimated to be 20-30 million metric tons of crude steel.
Metropol estimates that the investment required for the construction of Bakcharskaya Steel will total $25 billion.
In addition, the company plans to supply products manufactured at the new mill to the eastern regions of Russia, as well as to China, Korea and Japan.