Gold mining in Russia: results of 2023 and prospects for 2030
The results of the gold mining industry for 2023, the regions and companies that are leaders in gold mining, the prospects for the development of the industry until 2030 - we will tell you in this news.
The gold mining industry in Russia is living in difficult conditions - the closure of large export markets, the shortage of equipment and technology, and the growth of production costs have had a negative impact. However, despite all the difficulties, the industry continues to show decent results. According to the results of last year, gold production in the country decreased slightly - by 2.5%, which allowed it to maintain its status as the second largest gold producer in the world.
As a positive moment, it can be noted that the growth of gold reserves exceeded its production - more than 700 tons was the replacement of gold reserves in 2023. Due to effective geological exploration work, the state balance was replenished with 168 new deposits: "In 2023, out of 168 new deposits of solid minerals placed on the state balance, 142 are gold ," the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources clarified.
Krasnoyarsk Krai, Yakutia and Magadan Region are the leaders
Krasnoyarsk Krai retained its first place in terms of gold production volumes - about 64 tons of gold were mined in the region in 2023. Yakutia moved up to second place for the first time in Russia's modern history with 50 tons of gold mined - an increase of 4 tons compared to 2022. This year marks the 100th anniversary of the gold mining industry in Yakutia, so the target for 2024 is serious - it is planned to mine 53 tons of gold. Magadan Oblast rounded out the top three - the region's enterprises produced 47.9 tons of yellow metal, which is 6% less than last year. Precious metal mining remains a priority for Kolyma and accounts for 2/3 of its GRP.
TOP 10 gold mining companies: virtually unchanged
The rating of the 10 largest gold producers included the same companies as last year, only their position relative to each other has changed slightly. Polyus remained the permanent leader with 90.25 tons of gold produced, increasing its last year's result by 14%. UGMK took second place with approximately 34 tons of gold mined - the company does not disclose production figures. Polymetal made it into the top three with a result of 31.3 tons, whose Russian assets have belonged to the Mangazeya Group since March 2024.
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Nordgold and YGC produced more than 10 tons of gold, sharing 5th and 6th place, respectively. Pavlik moved from 10th to 7th place. In 2023, the company increased production by 29%, to 9.3 tons of gold. Seligdar improved its performance by 9.5% and set its historical record - the company produced 8.27 tons of gold. Vysochaishy and GRK Bystrinskoye took 9th and 10th place in the ranking with approximately 8 tons of gold mined each. In total, the 10 largest gold mining companies in Russia produced a total of 245 tons of gold - an increase of 5.5% compared to 2022. The threshold for entering the TOP-10 has also increased - from 7.2 to 8 tons of gold per year.
The Future of Gold Mining in Russia
According to TsNIGRI estimates, gold production in Russia will peak in 2030. Under the baseline scenario, the country will produce 600 tons of the yellow metal that year. The progressive scenario takes into account the involvement of forecast resources and reserves from the unallocated fund in the development – in this case, the figure could increase to 700 tons. Much will depend on the effectiveness of geological exploration and the reproduction of the mineral resource base.
The Federal Project "Geology. Revival of the Legend" places special emphasis on this, the first stage of which ends in 2024. It is expected that the forecast gold resources will be replenished by 290 tons by the end of the year. The project places special emphasis on increasing the geological exploration of the Far East. By 2030, it is planned that the indicator will increase from 35% to 65% on average. In terms of regions: Magadan Region - up to 90%, Yakutia - up to 70%, Primorye - up to 55%, Kamchatka Krai - up to 40%.
One of the latest achievements of geological exploration in Russia was the discovery of the Sovinoye deposit in Chukotka. With reserves of more than 100 tons of gold, it became the largest open gold deposit since the collapse of the USSR. Elkonsky GMK (part of Atomredmetzoloto), which owns Sovinoye, plans to reach its design capacity by 2029 and produce 3 tons of gold annually.
Gold Mining and Processing Equipment at MiningWorld Russia 2025
MiningWorld Russia is an international exhibition of machinery and equipment for mining, processing and transportation of minerals. Manufacturers and suppliers of equipment, technologies and components for the gold mining industry can present their solutions there. In 2025, the exhibition will be held for the 29th time.
MiningWorld Russia 2024 was visited by 8,410 specialists from 75 regions of the Russian Federation and 32 countries. Among them were representatives of gold mining companies: Polymetal, UK Polyus, YUGK, Highland Gold, etc. Visitors to the exhibition are interested in the products of the participants - the purchasing budget of 45% of visitors exceeds 10 million rubles .
