Kuranakh

The Kuranakh Mine is located in the Amur Region of the Russian Far East, located near the town of Olekma, a principal stop on the BAM Railway providing direct rail access to customers in the north-east of China and to the Russian Pacific ports. Although enjoying good access to infrastructure, the operation is located in a remote part of the Russian Far East. Consequently as the largest regional company, the operation has brought a much-welcomed boost to the local economy. This includes employment and fiscal contributions, in addition to wide ranging community and regional stakeholder engagement and biodiversity conservation programmes.

The operation covers 85km2 and comprises the Kuranakh and Saikta open-pit mines, an on-site Crushing and Screening Plant and the nearby Olekma Processing Plant. The operation produces an iron ore concentrate with a 62.5% Fe quality content and an ilmenite concentrate with a 48% TiO2 quality content, one of the best available on the international market. The concentrates are directly loaded onto railcar wagons for transportation via the BAM and Trans Siberian Railways to customers in Russia and China and internationally via the Russian Pacific sea ports.

As of the end of first half of 2015, 566,349 tonnes and 95,702 tonnes of iron ore and ilmenite concentrates were produced respectively, 12% and 10% higher than their respective production volumes in same period last year. This is equal to 63% of the 900,000 tonnes annual iron ore target and 60% of the 160,000 tonnes annual ilmenite target.

K&S

The K&S Mine is located in the Obluchenskoye District of the Jewish Autonomous Region (EAO) in the Russian Far East. The operation is 4 kilometres west of the town of Izvestkovaya, approximately 130 kilometres west by federal highway from the regional capital Birobidzhan, and 300 kilometres west of Khabarovsk, the principal city of the Russian Far East.

The total site covers over 50 square kilometres, and is well located, benefiting from direct access to rail, road, power, water and a well-educated workforce. Targeting commercial production in the second half of 2016, K&S will produce an estimated 0.5 million tonnes in 2016, and an annual 3.2 million tonnes at full capacity. K&S produces solely iron ore concentrate, unlike the smaller Kuranakh Mine which also produces ilmenite. At K&S, the iron ore concentrate produced is a superior 65% Fe grade with no material impurities. This means that it is highly attractive to Chinese steel mill customers, especially those in nearby in the North East of China where it is hard to source quality concentrates.

Garinskoye

Garinskoye is an advanced exploration project that offers the potential for a low cost DSO-style operation that can be transitioned into a large-scale long-life open pit mining operation.

The project is located in the Amur Region of the Russian Far East, midway between the BAM and Trans Siberian Railways. With exploration licences for ground covering over 3,500 km2, the project is the largest in terms of area in the IRC portfolio.