Polymetal: Far East and Arctic Development Fund and Credit Bank of Moscow will finance construction of grid power line for Ne... (1081829)

 
 Polymetal International plc (POLY) 
Polymetal: Far East and Arctic Development Fund and Credit Bank of Moscow 
will finance construction of grid power line for Nezhda project 
 
30-Jun-2020 / 09:00 MSK 
Dissemination of a Regulatory Announcement, transmitted by EQS Group. 
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. 
 
Release time IMMEDIATE LSE, MOEX, AIX: POLY / ADR: AUCOY 
Date         30 June 2020 
 
Polymetal International plc 
 
 Far East and Arctic Development Fund and Credit Bank of Moscow will finance 
           construction of grid power line for Nezhda project 
 
    UVES LLC ("UVES"), an independent grid management company, which will be 
  funded by Far East and Arctic Development Fund ("FEDF") and Credit Bank of 
         Moscow ("CBoM"), will start construction of the grid power line and 
           substation for Polymetal's Nezhda project. 
 
           THE PROJECT AND FINANCING STRUCTURE 
 
    The power line will be built, owned and operated by UVES, an independent 
      grid management company led by an experienced team with a proven track 
         record in infrastructure projects. Upon the construction completion 
      scheduled for Q2 2022, the facility will be leased out to Polymetal on 
           pre-agreed terms. 
 
 The project CAPEX to be incurred by UVES is estimated at RUB 6.0 billion[1] 
(approximately US$ 86 million, net of VAT), of which RUB 5.5 billion will be 
     funded with the FEDF's 10-year senior loan and RUB 1.7 billion with the 
  CBoM's 5-year subordinated loan facility. Polymetal will grant a guarantee 
  for the FEDF loan, as well as guarantee payments under the lease agreement 
           to UVES. 
 
  The single-circuit 110 kV power line will run 254 km from Khandyga, 415 km 
      east from Yakutsk, to the Nezhda production site. The project is fully 
           permitted with construction set to start in July. 
 
           STRATEGIC Rationale for the project 
 
? Cost savings: grid connection will reduce all-in power cost from 
approximately 16 to 10 RUB/Kw-h compared to in-house generation from 
diesel, which translates into a roughly US$ 40/oz reduction in Nezhda's 
TCC. Nezhda annual energy consumption is estimated at 110 GWh. 
 
? Meaningful decrease in environmental footprint: 
 
? 75% reduction of equivalent Nezhda's CO2 emissions from 64 Kt to 16 Kt 
per year, which implies a 4% decline in total Group's CO2 emissions. 
 
? Reduction of environmental accident risks related to transportation 
and storage of large diesel fuel volumes. 
 
? Benefits from further down-the-line power intensive improvement 
opportunities. 
 
    "Grid power enhances the economics of Nezhda and drastically reduces its 
        environmental footprint", said Vitaly Nesis, Group CEO of Polymetal. 
      "Long-term project funding from FEDF supported by a highly experienced 
management team ensures successful execution of the project and allows us to 
           preserve our focus on the key business". 
 
     "As one of the largest Russian banks, we fully understand our impact on 
  economic, social and environmental issues, and embrace responsibility that 
  it implies. We are actively integrating sustainable development principles 
           into our business, prioritising projects that generate social and 
environmental benefits, such as the construction of a power line for Nezhda, 
  funded by the Far East and Arctic Development Fund and us", said Alexander 
          Kaznacheev, Deputy Chairman of the Board of Credit Bank of Moscow. 
 
About Polymetal 
 
  Polymetal International plc (together with its subsidiaries - "Polymetal", 
   the "Company", or the "Group") is a top-10 global gold producer and top-5 
    global silver producer with assets in Russia and Kazakhstan. The Company 
           combines strong growth with a robust dividend yield. 
 
About FEDF 
 
     JSC "Far East and Arctic Development Fund" is a subsidiary of the State 
   Corporation "VEB.RF" (Bank for Development and Foreign Economic Affairs). 
     The fund implements prioritized investment projects in the Far East and 
   Arctic region by providing long-term preferential financing. On behalf of 
    the Russian Government, the fund also develops digital services aimed to 
   increase promptness and transparency of interaction between the state and 
         business in various industries, and supports small and medium-sized 
           enterprises. 
 
           Enquiries 
 
Media                     Investor Relations 
 
FTI          [phone]  Polymetal [e-mail] 
Consulting   1000 
 
                          Evgeny    [phone] (UK) 
Leonid Fink               Monakhov 
 
Viktor                    Timofey 
Pomichal                  Kulakov 
 
                                    [phone] (Russia) 
 
                          Kirill 
                          Kuznetsov 
 
Joint Corporate Brokers 
 
Morgan       [phone]  RBC       [phone] 
Stanley &    8000         Europe 
Co.                       Limited 
Internationa 
l plc 
 
                          Marcus 
                          Jackson 
Andrew 
Foster 
 
                          Jamil 
                          Miah 
Richard 
Brown 
 
Panmure 
Gordon 
             [phone] 
             2500 
 
James 
Stearns 
 
Forward-looking statements 
 
       This release may include statements that are, or may be deemed to be, 
"forward-looking statements". These forward-looking statements speak only as 
        at the date of this release. These forward-looking statements can be 
   identified by the use of forward-looking terminology, including the words 
         "targets", "believes", "expects", "aims", "intends", "will", "may", 
   "anticipates", "would", "could" or "should" or similar expressions or, in 
each case their negative or other variations or by discussion of strategies, 
plans, objectives, goals, future events or intentions. These forward-looking 
      statements all include matters that are not historical facts. By their 
    nature, such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, 
 uncertainties and other important factors beyond the company's control that 
  could cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the company 
 to be materially different from future results, performance or achievements 
           expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such 
  forward-looking statements are based on numerous assumptions regarding the 
     company's present and future business strategies and the environment in 
which the company will operate in the future. Forward-looking statements are 
     not guarantees of future performance. There are many factors that could 
   cause the company's actual results, performance or achievements to differ 
     materially from those expressed in such forward-looking statements. The 
company expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to disseminate any 
  updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein to 
 reflect any change in the company's expectations with regard thereto or any 
  change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statements 
           are based. 
 
=--------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
 
[1] Including G&A and contingency costs. 
 
ISIN:          JE00B6T5S470 
Category Code: MSCM 
TIDM:          POLY 
Sequence No.:  72684 
EQS News ID:   1081829 
 
End of Announcement EQS News Service 
 
 

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 30, 2020 02:00 ET (06:00 GMT)