Polyus : Completion of Verninskoye Mill expansion project to 3.5 mtpa

Press Release

25 May 2021

PJSC Polyus

Completion of Verninskoye Mill expansion project to 3.5 mtpa

PJSC Polyus (LSE, MOEX - PLZL) ("Polyus", the "Company") announces that it has successfully completed the expansion of the Verninskoye Mill's throughput capacity. The project, which was launched in the fourth quarter of 2019, has been completed ahead of its initial schedule (the second half of 2021). The Mill has now achieved its target hourly throughput rate of 450 t/h and is currently running at an annualized capacity of 3.5 million tonnes.

This upgrade is expected to provide additional 40 thousand ounces of incremental gold volumes at Verninskoye. Capital expenditures for the project amounted to ca. $60 million, in line with the initial budget.

Polyus has completed a number of initiatives to upgrade the crushing and grinding circuit at Verninskoye. This included the installation of an additional crushing circuit comprising of a ball mill and two vibrating screens in the extension of the main building. An additional cone crusher and screens were installed to reduce recirculation and increase the throughput capacity of the existing SAG mill. The gravity concentration circuit was equipped with additional centrifugal concentrators and a hydrocyclone unit which were also installed in the main building extension.

As part of the project, Polyus implemented a number of initiatives aimed at improving recoveries, including the installation of an additional reactivation kiln in the main building extension, as well as installation of an additional centrifugal concentrator in the main building. This resulted in the recovery rate at Verninskoye reaching ca. 90% in February 2021.

Polyus

Polyus is the world's fourth-largest gold mining company by production volumes and the largest gold miner in terms of attributable gold Ore Reserves. The company demonstrates the lowest production costs among major global gold producers. Its principal operations are located in Siberia and the Russian Far East: Krasnoyarsk, Irkutsk and Magadan regions and the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia).

Investor and media contact

Victor Drozdov

Director, Communications & Investor Relations Department [phone]

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Forward looking statement

This announcement may contain "forward-looking statements" concerning Polyus and/or Polyus group. Generally, the words "will", "may", "should", "could", "would", "can", "continue", "opportunity", "believes", "expects", "intends", "anticipates", "estimates" or similar expressions identify forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include statements relating to future capital expenditures and business and management strategies and the expansion and growth of Polyus' and/or Polyus group's operations. Many of these risks and uncertainties relate to factors that are beyond Polyus' and/or Polyus group's ability to control or estimate precisely and therefore undue reliance should not be placed on such statements which speak only as at the date of this announcement. Polyus and/or any Polyus group company assumes no obligation in respect of, and does not intend to update, these forward-looking statements, except as required pursuant to applicable law.