By Will Daynes
Business Excellence
Having existed as an exploration company up until recently, Auriant Mining’s aspiration is now to become a mid-sized gold producer. Chief executive officer Denis Alexandrov explains how the company is perfectly placed to achieve this.
Until recently, gold mining in Russia was a wholly state monopolised industry, one with a history that dates back over 300 years to when the first gold bullion was poured at Nerchinsky mines in 1702. Indeed, it was during the era of the Soviet Union that, through substantial levels of government sponsorship, the industry experienced its most recent exploration boom period, with upwards of 6000 geologists estimated to have been working in the Soviet Union at one time.
The collapse of the Soviet Union brought with it a swift end to this period of prosperity and an end to major exploration investments. Nevertheless, gold and other precious resources remained hidden beneath Russia’s soil and this created a gap in the market that companies are to this day attempting to fill.