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.