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Hedge funds and other large speculators boosted net-long positions by 11% to 197,362 as of Nov. 12, the lowest in 14 weeks.
Russian miner Polymetal has raised its forecast for 2022 capital expenditure (capex) to reflect an earlier decision to accelerate several projects and new investment approval for its Veduga gold deposit in Siberia, it said on Monday.
Polymetal, a major Russian producer of gold and silver, raised its 2021 capex forecast in August to reflect global inflation and the quicker development of several projects to take advantage of high prices for its metals.
It has now raised its capex estimate to $610 million in 2022 and $590 million in 2023 compared with a previous forecast of around $500 million in each year, the miner said in a statement.
Investment is currently expected to decline to $470 million in 2024 and $400 million in 2025, but Polymetal could consider new development projects which would entail additional capex growth after the completion of Veduga and the POX-2 processing plant, it said.
Polymetal plans to spend $447 million on the development of Veduga in coming years, which is expected to start producing gold in the second quarter of 2025 before a full ramp-up later that year.
“The large high-grade reserve base, robust economics, and clear execution path to significant cash flows underpinned the board’s decision to approve Veduga,” Vitaly Nesis, Polymetal chief executive, said in the statement.
The project will rely on hydro power and contribute to Polymetal’s carbon emission reduction targets, Polymetal said.
Its share in the project will rise to 100% from the current 59.4% in the second quarter of 2022 when it plans to use its call option from Russia’s second largest lender VTB.
(By Polina Devitt and Anastasia Lyrchikova; Editing by Louise Heavens and Kirsten Donovan)
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