PRESS: Russia metals giants ask to simplify expansion of fields

MOSCOW, Nov 24 (PRIME) -- Russian uncut diamond mining giant ALROSA and metals holding Norilsk Nickel have asked the natural resources minister to simplify the procedures needed to expand licensed fields, business daily Vedomosti reported Thursday, citing market participants and a representative of the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry.

The licenses for the older deposits of the companies were given in the Soviet times or the early 1990s, when the depth and the area of drilling were severely restricted, which now makes it difficult to register newly found resources.

Vedomosti reported that as the reserves of the companies on the deposits launched earlier are decreasing, Norilsk Nickel plans to spend 1.1 billion rubles and ALROSA 4.8 billion rubles on geological exploration in 2016.

(64.0087 rubles – U.S. $1)

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