Canadian mining company Kinross was forced to sell assets to Russia at half price

The Toronto-headquartered miner announced in April that it plans to sell the Kupol mine and Udinsk project for $ 680 million to Highland Gold, one of the largest groups in the world. Russian mining.

However, the amount of the transaction will have to be adjusted after a review by Russia’s subcommittee on foreign investment control, which established that it should be limited to 340 million, Kinross said in a statement on Wednesday.

In March, Russian authorities stipulated that any transaction between Russian and foreign companies must first be authorized by this new commission, to ensure that the decision to leave Russia is carefully considered by foreign companies. , and not the result of politics. pressure.

Kinross, which specializes in exploiting gold and silver deposits, has announced its intention to leave Russia after the launch of what Moscow calls special military operation in Ukraine, as well as other large foreign companies.

In early trading on Wednesday, shares of Kinross rose slightly on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

New restrictions for foreign groups

The Duma, the lower house of the Russian parliament, also approved on Wednesday a bill restricting the handling of underground exploitation licenses by foreign groups, according to the institution’s website.

The law could prevent foreign groups from abandoning projects, banning them from returning if they did, a newspaper source said in May on condition of anonymity. Vedomosti.

Changes to the law on underground exploitation stipulate that foreigners will have to create a new corporate entity in accordance with Russian law in order to continue their exploitation of minerals.

The draft also stipulates that foreign owners must transfer their licenses to Russian entities within 30 days from the entry of the law. If the foreign owner does not comply with the regulations, the license will be revoked.