MMK wins iron ore deposit auction

The Russian Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works (MMK) has won the right to develop the Prioskolskoye iron ore deposit after paying Ruble 630 million ($23.6 million) at the auction held on Thursday, November 2. The deposit will enable MMK to reduce imports of iron ore from its main supplier -Kazakhstan - and allow it to be as self-sufficient in iron ore as other Russian steelmakers, such as Severstal, NLMK and Evraz Group. MMK will need to invest about $1 billion in the development of the deposit in order to bring it into production within six years. The results of the auction for the right to develop the deposit with probable reserves of 45.17 million metric tons of high-grade ore must be confirmed within 30 days by Russia's Federal Agency for Subsoil Use.