POLYMETAL INTERNATIONAL PLC Polymetal International plc (POLY) Polymetal: Ore Reserves, Mineral Resources and Exploration update as at 1 January 2021 01-March-2021 / 10:00 MSK Dissemination of a Regulatory Announcement, transmitted by EQS Group. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. =---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Release time IMMEDIATE LSE, MOEX, AIX: POLY / ADR: AUCOY Date 01 March 2021 Polymetal International plc
Ore Reserves, Mineral Resources and Exploration update as at 1 January 2021
Polymetal announces its Ore Reserves and Mineral Resources as at 1 January 2021 in accordance with the JORC Code (2012) and exploration update for the year ended 31 December 2020.
"We delivered maiden reserve estimates at several of our projects resulting in a substantial increase in total Group Ore Reserves. We are confident in our ability to continue per share reserve accretion while maintaining conservative price assumptions", said Vitaly Nesis, Group CEO of Polymetal. "This year we are going to significantly advance our greenfield exploration with the aim of extending resource base at a relatively low finding cost".
2020 HIGLIGHTS ? In 2020, Group Ore Reserves increased by 10% year-on-year to 27.9 Moz[1] of gold equivalent (GE) driven by initial
Ore Reserve estimates at East Bakyrchik (Kyzyl), Prognoz, and Pesherny (Voro hub). This has more than compensated
for depletion and ownership dilution at Veduga. GE Ore Reserves per share grew by the same 10%. ? Share of Ore Reserves for open-pit mining stood at 53%, up by 2 percentage points (p.p.) year-on-year, while share
of refractory reserves amounted to 72%, declining by 2 p.p. Both of these developments are attributable to Prognoz
reserve initial estimate. ? Share of silver in Ore Reserves increased by 5 p.p. to 11% also on the back of the significant contribution from
Prognoz. ? Mineral Resources (additional to Ore Reserves) declined by 14% year-on-year to 21.8 Moz of GE primarily due to
resource-to-reserve conversion. This conversion was partially offset by new Mineral Resource estimates at Albazino
(Talgiy) and Veduga. Mineral Resources inclusive of Ore Reserves were essentially stable at 49.7 Moz of GE. ? The average grade in Ore Reserves was marginally up year-on-year and stood at 3.8 g/t of GE. Average GE grade in
additional Mineral Resources was down 10% year-on-year. Polymetal GE grades continue to be one of the highest
within the sector globally. ? Polymetal maintained conservative price assumptions for both Ore Reserve and Mineral Resource estimates at USUSD
1,200/oz for gold and USUSD 15/oz for silver. Short-term price assumptions used for tactical mine planning and
sequencing are USUSD 1,500/oz and USUSD 20/oz respectively. Ore Reserves and Mineral Resources summary (1), (2)
1 January 2021 1 January 2020 Change, %
Ore Reserves (Proved + Probable), gold equivalent Moz 27.9 25.2 +10%
Gold, Moz 24.9 23.7 +5%
Silver, Moz 246.3 116.0 +112%
Average reserve grade, g/t 3.8 3.7 +0%
Ore Reserves per share, GE oz/per share 0.059 0.054 +10%
Mineral Resources (Measured + Indicated + Inferred), gold equivalent Moz 21.8 25.4 -14%
Gold, Moz 19.5 20.3 -4%
Silver, Moz 191.9 337.7 -43%
Average resources grade, g/t 4.7 5.2 -10% 1. Ore Reserves and Mineral Resources from continuing operations. Lichkvaz, Oroch, Sopka Kvartsevaya, Dalneye and Irbychan mines were classified as discontinued operations as at 01.01.2020 and are not included in this estimate.
Base metal are not included in the 2021 GE calculation, while they were included in calculation of the 2020 GE. 2. Mineral Resources are additional to Ore Reserves. Mineral Resources of platinum group metals and rare earth metals
are given separately and are not included in the calculation of the gold equivalent. Discrepancies in calculations
are due to rounding
2021 OUTLOOK
In 2021, Polymetal will continue to invest in both near-mine and greenfield exploration projects in order to increase Ore Reserves.
The key objectives are: ? Complete an updated Ore Reserve estimate at Veduga. ? Prepare an initial Ore Reserve estimate at Talgiy (Albazino hub) and Elevator (Varvara hub) ? Complete an initial Ore Reserve estimate at Tomtor REM project. ? Significantly step-up activity levels in greenfield exploration including commencing of drilling campaigns at
several JVs with juniors.
Ore Reserves and Mineral Resources structure by metal as at 1 January 2021
Ore Reserves Mineral Resources
Gold 89% 89%
Silver 11% 11%
Total 100% 100% Ore Reserves reconciliation, GE Moz (1)
Ore Reserves, Change in Initial Ore Ore Reserves, including Ore
01.01.2020 Depletion Revaluation ownership Reserve base metals, 01.01.2021 Exclusion of Reserves,
(2) estimate base metals from 01.01.2021
GE
25.2 -1.9 +0.6 -0.6 +4.8 28.2 -0.4 27.9 1. Any discrepancies in calculations are due to rounding. 2. Sale of a stake in Veduga and North Kaluga. Ore Reserves and Mineral Resources as at 1 January 2021 (1)
Tonnage Grade Content
Mt GE, g/t GE, Moz
Ore Reserves
Proved 68.6 2.4 5.4
Probable 162.4 4.3 22.5
Proved + Probable 231.0 3.8 27.9
Mineral Resources
Measured 14.8 4.0 1.9
Indicated 47.7 3.9 6.0
Measured + Indicated 62.5 3.9 7.9
Inferred 82.9 5.2 13.9
Measured + Indicated + Inferred 145.4 4.7 21.8 1. Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves in accordance with the JORC Code (2012). Mineral Resources are additional to Ore Reserves. Detailed tables for Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves with a breakdown by deposits and metals are given
below. PGM and Rare earth metals Mineral Resources are presented separately and are not included in the calculation
of the gold equivalent. Any discrepancies in calculations are due to rounding.
Exploration areas and volumes (mine site exploration excluded) (1), (2)
Drilling, km
2020 2019
Brownfield
Kyzyl 2.4 5.3
Albazino hub 51.7 13.2
Omolon hub 8.0 11.8
Varvara hub 13.7 45.3
Dukat hub 3.3 0.6
Svetloye 3.6 2.8
Voro hub 12.6 22.3
Subtotal 95.2 102.4
Greenfield
Yakutia 12.7 43.1
Nezhda 4.9 1.8
Prognoz 7.8 41.4
Kutyn 25.5 16.1
Veduga 27.0 19.2
Urals 5.1 3.9
Viksha 22.2 11.9
Other 0.7 1.9
Subtotal 93.3 96.1
Total 188.5 198.5 1. Any discrepancies in calculations are due to rounding. 2. Excluding exploration at JVs. EXPLORATION RESULTS
As of 31.12.2020, the company owned 123 licenses for prospecting, exploration and mining of gold, silver, PGMs and base metals. 34 of these licenses were obtained in 2020 while 12 licenses have been relinquished. During the reporting year, geological activities were carried out at 70 projects at 68 licensed properties. In total, 189 km of drilling was completed.
Kyzyl ? In 2020, an initial Ore Reserve estimate for East Bakyrchik (Kyzyl) was completed amounting to 2.2 Moz of gold with
an average grade of 3.7 g/t. The total Kyzyl Ore Reserves increased to 10.1 Moz with an average grade of 5.4 g/t.
The Ore Reserve estimate for East Bakyrchik incorporates data from the 29.9 km drilling campaign (168 drill holes)
conducted in 2015-2020. Additional Kyzyl Mineral Resources amounted to 1.7 Moz of gold for underground mining with
an average grade of 3.8 g/t. ? Also, in 2020, Polymetal continued exploration drilling at East Bakyrchik in order to confirm the possibility an
extension of the open pit and an increase in resources. 10 drill holes totaling 2.4 km were completed resulting in
better definition of the ore bodies' outlines and the boundaries of mineralisation. ? In 2021, further exploration at Eastern Bakyrchik sites is planned to convert open-pit Mineral Resources into the
Indicated category. Additionally, Polymetal is planning exploration drilling to prospect the eastern flank of the
Kyzyl shear zone including the Sarbas and Karmen deposits. Also, deeper levels of the ore body 1 will be traced to
increase Inferred resources.
Albazino hub ? In 2020, exploration activities included exploration drilling (9.3 km) along the flanks and delineation of the ore
body at the Anfisa open pit. ? Exploration was carried out at the Talgiy section of the Urkachik area (92,000 m3 of trenches, 42.4 km of
drilling). In the central zone of the main ore body, detailed exploration activities were conducted to complete
Russian statutory resource estimate (GKZ). Exploration activities have been further continued on the flanks in
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