Laboratory Network

The Group’s first laboratory was established at the same time as the first gold was poured at Pokrovskiy in 1999 and has since grown into a network of testing and analysis laboratories, which includes the following:

• A central laboratory based in Blagoveshchensk, focused on providing integrated support to the Group’s exploration works. It was expanded in April 2009 to include a new chemical testing department;

• A central laboratory based in the village of Tigda near the Pokrovskiy mine;

• Laboratories based at the gold-mining projects Tokur and Odolgo (Solovievskiy);

• A laboratory at Olekma, close to the iron-ore project Kuranakh.

Laboratory work

The Group’s laboratory network utilizes the most advanced, professional equipment and is constantly evaluating its range of procedures in order to increase the sensitivity and accuracy of results. The Group’s laboratories also conduct work on the selection of alternative production procedures.

Sample testing

All laboratories are accredited to national and International standards. The central laboratory is included in the list of approved arbitration laboratories [GKZ], and is recommended for conducting geological control of Russian enterprises. [Probopodgotovka].

The Petropavlovsk laboratory network performs 1400 test days per annum (700,000 tests per year) and employs a total of 450 specialists.