Polyus Gold International, a London-listed miner that is Russia’s top producer of gold, has announced the industry’s biggest hedging transaction in six years, raising the prospect of an increase in forward selling as producers attempt to lock in prices.
The company, 40 per cent owned by Suleiman Kerimov, said the programme was aimed at “increasing the certainty” of its cash flow as it ploughs billions into developing Natalka, one of the world largest untapped gold deposits, in Russia’s far east.
William Tankard, head of precious metals mining at Thomson Reuters GFMS, a consultancy, said the deal was the biggest corporate hedging transaction since AngloGold Ashanti and Barrick unwound their hedge books in 2008-09.