More than 100 tons of gold have been discovered at the Sovinoye gold mine in Russia's easternmost federal entity of Chukotka.
It is the largest gold discovery in the country since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.
Mining division of the Russian state corporation Rosatom, which made the announcement, pointed out in a statement that drilling works at the Sovinoye mine were carried out “year-round in conditions of continuous permafrost.”
"Over the past three years, 123 wells with a total length of more than 32 km have been drilled. All prospecting, topographic-geodetic, geological-geochemical and geophysical work has been completed," according to the statement.
The Sovinoye mine’s annual output is expected to start at three tons from 2029, the company said.
The mine, which is located near the Chuckchee Sea, was founded in the 1970s. It was followed by comprehensive geological exploration to identify high-grade gold veins in the 1980s.
Russian media earlier cited a report by the Moscow-based Central Research Exploration Institute of Non-Ferrous and Precious Metals as saying that gold production in Russia could reach its peak in 2030.