News

January 15, 2009

Abramovich Shuffles The Pack At Highland Gold

By John Helmer in Moscow

Millhouse, Roman Abramovich's holding company, has obliged two of its Russian steelmaking partners, Alexander Abramov and Alexander Frolov, jointly to buy an indirect stake of 9.99 per cent in Highland Gold Mining. No explanation for this transfer of assets has been released to market, neither by Highland Gold, nor by Millhouse, nor by Abramov and Frolov, who made their acquisition through a private company called Tremadon. No details of the value of the transaction value have been disclosed.

Highland Gold told Minesite through spokesman Dmitry Yakushkin that this was "an indirect change. Practically, this doesn't concern [our] company". Yakushkin said Abramov's and Frolov's company bought its stake in Highland Gold from Primerod, the company through which Abramovich's controls its 32 per cent stake in Highland. This is the largest stake anyone holds in the Aim-traded gold miner, which has suffered an 85 per cent drop in its market value over the past year. It is now worth less than...