News

January 12, 2009

Eurasia Mining’s New Russian Partner Gives It The Flexibility To Get Involved In Gold

By Charles Wyatt

It has long been clear that any company, small or large, operating in Russia has to have a powerful Russian partner, or it will be robbed blind. Peter Hambro Mining showed the way, but there are plenty that thought they knew better. Celtic Resources, Highland Gold and Trans-Siberian Gold have since been taught the error of their ways. In this context it’s interesting to see that little Eurasia Mining has also now taken a Russian partner. Eurasia has been exploring in the Urals and on the Kola Peninsula for several years now mostly in joint venture with Anglo Platinum. As far as local participation was concerned, the old strategy was always to try to keep everything small scale and under the radars of anybody sinister or important. But that changed back in June 2008 when the company announced the appointment of Dmitry Suschov as a non-executive director, following an agreement for Deloan Investments to invest a minimum of £1 million in the company.

Dmitry is only 30, but has already had plenty of experience in corporate finance. Not only is he a director of Deloan, but he’s also a director at Daltekhgas, Kiev Oxygen Works and Pivdentekhgas, meaning he has a useful string of Russian and Ukrainian contacts. He and Christian Schaffalitsky, chief executive of Eurasia, have known each other for some time, and have done some deals in the past. This history must explain, in part, how the current deal is holding together. The investment will take...