OJSC South Verkhoyansk Mining Company (SVMC) was created in 1997 as the lisence holder for Nezhdaninskoye gold deposit, one of the largest in Russia.
Polyus Gold acquired 50% interest in SVMC from Alrosa Investment Group in September 2005. By the end of 2006 the 100% block in the company was consolidated by Polyus Gold.
Nezdaninskoe deposit was originally discovered in 1951 and since 1974 was subject to a small scale underground production, which was shut down in early 2005.
For 2006-2007 additional exploration are planned at the deposit in order to design new pre-feasibility study, taking into account various development models based on a combination of open pit and underground mining.
