Amur Minerals rises and falls on licence to mine nickel, copper in Russia

Amur Minerals rises and falls on licence to mine nickel, copper in Russia

The Kun Manie nickel-copper sulphide project is located in Russia’s Far East district. (Image courtesy of Amur Minerals)

Base metal exploration company, Amur Minerals (LSE: AMC) has made waves these days with the firm’s stock soaring since last Friday, after Russia granted it mining rights for its Kun Manie nickel-copper sulphide project in the country’s Far East district.

Once passed the initial enthusiasm, the stock has been heading down. On Thursday it lost over 7%, closing at 18.30 pounds, after having skyrocketed almost 120% from May 22 to May 26.

With the licence, which grants Amur 100% of the right to the property, the Russian miner expects to recover much more than copper and nickel (though this is the main resource available, with 841,000 nickel tonnes equivalent lying within the production license area). The company says that Kun Manie also holds significant amounts of cobalt, platinum, palladium, and other minor minerals.

The 36 sq. km licence, granted after more than 10 years of exploration in the area, is valid until December 2034.

Amur’s subsidiary has now submitted a work program that outlines the company’s plan to take the project into production.

In the meantime, the firm is looking at either building a 320 kilometre road from the project to a rail line for US$312 million, or the possibility of leasing a Zeppelin to fly product and equipment.

Amur Minerals rises and falls on licence to mine nickel, copper in Russia