Polyus Snapshot
Polyus knows there's more to Siberia than prison camps and frozen tundra. Russia's largest gold miner, the company produces 1.2 million ounces each year. Polyus operates about 15 gold mines and exploration projects in five regions across central and eastern Russia, and holds licenses to mine six of the 10 largest gold deposits in the country. Formed in 2006 after Norilsk Nickel spun off its gold assets, the company is majority-owned by two Russian businessmen: Suleiman Kerimov (37%) and Mikhail Prokhorov, chairman of Polyus (30%). Kerimov acquired his shares in 2009. A bid by Polyus to acquire a majority stake in KazakhGold was blocked by the Kazakhstan government in 2010.