China's Cosstone and Uralelektromed, the flagship enterprise of No.2 Russian copper producer Urals Mining and Metallurgical Company (UMMC), have applied to bid at a tender on November 22 for the exploration and mining rights to the Stepnoye and Talovskoye polymetallic ore deposits in Russia's Altai territory, Anatoly Zaitsev, head of the territory's natural resources agency. told Interfax.

Stepnoye has C1-C2 reserves and anticipated resources of 4.947 million tonnes of ore containing 542,000 tonnes of copper, lead and zinc. Talovskoye has C1-C2 reserves of 3.587 million tonnes of ore containing 608,000 tonnes of copper, lead and zinc.

Zaitsev said bids would be assessed according to the development proposals, timetable for starting mining, projected recovery rate for minerals and comprehensive utilization of ore components with recovery of gold, silver, cadmium and selenium.

The winners of the tender will receive 20-year licenses.

Cosstone is a subsidiary of Coslight Technology International Group Limited. And was set up to develop polymetallic ore deposits in the Altai territory. The company has held a license to develop the Zakharovskoye deposit in the territory's Rubtsovsk district since 2006.

Uralelektromed, from the Sverdlovsk region, has the capacity to produce 360,000 tonnes of refined copper per year. – Interfax