Aurora Acquisition Corp (AURC)

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From Kitco article 2/26

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Many analysts think that, with the bull market still pretty much intact, the next gold rush may be in Russia, host to resources second in the world only to South Africa, yet which last year fell to sixth among gold-producing countries, behind Peru, according to a Reuters story.

The story quoted Tim McCutcheon, senior analyst at Aton Capital, as saying that “Russia is a cost-competitive place to mine gold,” because the average cash cost for producing an ounce of gold is $220, compared with an average for the rest of the world of $256.

However, “You only get free cheese in a mousetrap,” Thys Terblanche, Head of Standard Bank's Mining and Metals Advisory, told an industry conference this week. “The region is still very bureaucratic. Acute understanding and patience are going to be required.”

Part of the problem is that royalties required to be paid by miners to the government, at 6% of every ounce sold, are three to five times higher than in other parts of the world. That doesn’t sit well with such foreign investors as Clive Johnson, CEO of Bema Gold, which is partnering with western banks to get some development done.

“Let's pay taxes on profit,” Johnson says as he works to change the situation. “Let's not potentially destroy projects with such a big hit on revenue. . . You'll get more mines built in Russia—more tax dollars paid, more jobs created—if the royalties are reduced.”


http://www.kitcocasey.com/displayArticle.php?id=568
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