Caring for the environment

Biodiversity conservation

Mining companies all over the world are making significant investments in systems that monitor their environmental impact and in measures to offset this impact.

Polyus systematically manages the environmental aspects of its operations for the long term. We want to ensure that the areas where we operate remain clean, beautiful and alive for future generations. This systemic work is cyclical and includes the following biodiversity monitoring stages:

Evaluation and control of results

Evaluation of achieved targets and risk reassessment. Reassessment is performed annually based on the results of biodiversity monitoring and in the event of significant changes to production processes, emergencies or other events that have a major impact on biodiversity.

Monitoring

Selecting and evaluating indicators and preparing the list of indicators; determining areas where the operations of our assets affect biodiversity; performing desktop and field studies.

Measures for managing the identified risks

Measures aimed at preventing the impact on biodiversity; measures aimed at preserving vegetation, forests and water biological resources. If necessary, this can include additional measures aimed at preventing the net loss of biodiversity or ensuring its future growth.

Risk assessment

Identification of biodiversity risks; assessing the probability and consequences of risk occurrence, measures recommended to manage the identified risks.

We work with independent experts to ensure that our environmental policy is effective and meets environmental requirements: relevant research and specialized organizations and institutes with experience in the regions of the Company’s operations, extensive knowledge and skilled personnel.

Over the years, Polyus’ environmental experts have built a comprehensive picture of existing risks and opportunities. This work has laid the foundation for the Company’s biodiversity conservation policy. We have developed a deep understanding of what needs to be done to sustain and protect wildlife in those regions where our production sites operate.

In our efforts to preserve biodiversity, we are guided by two documents: our Standard (updated in 2022) and Regulations Monitoring, managing and mitigating biodiversity risks related to the Company’s operations (approved in 2022).

Any activities performed by a mining company inevitably have an environmental impact. At Polyus, we strive to minimize this impact and restore those areas that have been affected by our activities. Caring for the environment is a top priority for our Сompany in all the regions of its operations.

Monitoring and offsetting the environmental impact in our production regions: key stages

Polyus Krasnoyarsk

Krasnoyarsk Territory

Biodiversity assessment has been performed at Olimpiada mine and its adjacent territory. In 2022, the number of study sites increased. The department’s specialists collected data on plant and animal species and soil and landscape diversity.

Lenzoloto

Irkutsk Region

Environmental supervision is performed at three Lenzoloto sites. Recent studies have shown positive results, with no critical loss of biodiversity recorded. This means that the Company has fully offset its environmental impact.

Polyus Verninskoye

Irkutsk Region

At Verninskoye mine in 2022, the Polyus team, together with experts from the Vitim State Nature Reserve, studied five vegetation areas. Various plants species and their abundance and condition in the areas of interest were described. These areas had been previously studied in 2018. A follow-up assessment in 2023 allows us to track any changes in the area’s condition.

Polyus Magadan

Magadan Region

In 2022, we studied macrozoobenthos — tiny invertebrates that are 0.5 mm to 1 mm in size living in alluvial deposits. 25 taxons were identified in the Intrigan and Omchak basins, which is a six-fold decrease compared to 2008–2009 but roughly the same amount as recorded in 2017–2021. This means that a negative impact may have occurred in the past, together with other factors. However, the situation has stabilized over the past few years.

Polyus Aldan

Aldan Region, Yakutia

In 2022, on the territory of the Kuranakh ore field and in the area of the Сompany’s potential impact, we studied plants species, including indicator plants, that may help to determine the condition of soil in the area of interest. Results have shown that production facilities in the areas of interest have no impact on the soil and vegetation.

Fish stocking

Fish is abundant in the lakes and rivers of the regions of Polyus’ gold production in Siberia and the Far East. To preserve the fish population and species diversity, Polyus regularly carries out fish stocking. Multiple species of fish are raised at fish farms for Polyus, which are then released into water reservoirs. This activity is supervised by the Federal Agency for Fisheries.

Young fish released from 2020 to 2023

= 10,000 young fish

Peled

1 557 тыс.

into the Vilyuisk
water reservoir

Grayling

414 тыс.

into various rivers
of Irkutsk Region

Sterlet

298 тыс.

into the Yenisey basin

Sturgeon

154 тыс.

into the Yenisey basin

In the future, Polyus plans to work with regional departments of the Russian Federal Agency for Fisheries to ensure greater accuracy in evaluating the population of different species of fish. We also plan to extend the list of raised fish, adding species that provide a higher rate of return. This means that fisheries will receive more mature fish from a certain number of young fish.

total number of young fish released since 2020

Reforestation

92% of Polyus assets are situated on forest lands. The impact on forests is therefore inevitable, but it can be offset by planting and growing new trees.

Conifers areas restored in 2020–2023.

Actual number

2024 plan

Yakutia / Pine

Pine

781 ha

1.6 mln pcs

106 ha

0.2 mln
pine/larch trees

Irkutsk Region / Pine

1,838 ha

3.1 mln pcs

233 ha

0.5 mln pine trees

Krasnoyarsk Territory / Pine

454 ha

2.0 mln pcs

294 ha

0.6 mln pcs

Magadan Region / Larch

358 ha

720,000 pcs

Khabarovsk Territory / Larch

Larch

2 ha

5,000 pcs

of forest restored total in 2020–2023

Nearly 3.5 times the area of Moscow within the Third Ring Road

Polyus uses pine as the main tree type for reforestation. Two-year-old pine seedlings are usually planted in autumn. Over the next five years, they will grow 25–60 cm every year, and by 0.6–1 m annually after that. Mature 30—50-year-old pines grow wider but their upward growth slows down. Shoots in Polyus reforestation areas have a survival rate of 85%—89%. This is a high figure given the harsh climate of Siberia and the Far East.

Pine

Planting trees for reforestation is an obligation that our Company must comply with under Russian law. However, we do not see this as just a formality to be observed. We are committed to ensuring that the young trees take root to become beautiful and healthy forests in a few years’ time — forests that are the lungs of our planet and naturally absorb CO² greenhouse gases. At Polyus, we regard reforestation as a long-term project where we closely monitor how the trees are planted and maintained.

Protected Nature Reserves

This is a large-scale program that is implemented in all regions of our operations. Its aim is to conserve biodiversity based on global best practices. For this purpose, we work together with specially protected natural areas, local authorities and other stakeholders. This allows us to ensure efficient monitoring and comprehensive assessment of the situation. Making management decisions and conducting restoration activities to protect wildlife.

Vitim Nature Reserve

Irkutsk Region

Vitim State Nature Reserve is in the south of Irkutsk Region. It is protected by the Kodar mountain ridge on one side and by the impenetrable taiga on the other. It can only be accessed via the Vitim River or by helicopter. To this day, some areas of the nature reserve are yet to be explored.

temperature
in winter

temperature
in summer

Regions where the Company’s assets are located.

The territory of the nature reserve

The changeable climate creates conditions favorable for an astonishing variety of animals, birds and fish, many of which are listed in the Red Book of endangered species.

A project to support and study wild ungulates

In 2021, Polyus launched a project to support and study wild ungulates living in this area. Feeding troughs and salt licks were installed in the areas of the nature reserve inhabited by these animals to help them survive the long winter. This means they do not have to go outside the reserve looking for food and makes it easier for researchers to monitor the herds.

Camera traps near the feeding troughs record everything that happens there all day and all night. Reindeer, elk, wapiti, musk deer and other ungulates living in the reserve have all been photographed. Photo reports help experts get a good idea of the number of animals, migrations, population composition and behavior patterns.

Camera trap

Reindeer

Elk

Wapiti

Musk deer

However, the bears continue to steal the spotlight: camera traps have given researchers a vast number of images showing the everyday life of these animals in the nature reserve. All data, including the results of winter studies and animal encounter cards, have been used to prepare the Vitim wildlife register and the Nature Reserve Chronicle. Monitoring and applied research continued in the nature reserve throughout 2022–2023 with Polyus’ support.

Siberian musk deer

Family: Moschidae

vulnerable

A small even-toed ungulate (Artiodactyla). Instead of antlers, male Siberian musk deer have formidable fangs. They use them to attract females and fight adversaries. However, fights between male Siberian musk deer are rare: after showing their fangs to each other, the animals walk away peacefully. Endangered species, recorded in the Red Book.

Global population

90% In Russia

Height at withers — up to 70 cm

Shoulder height 50–55 cm

A running musk deer can change its direction by 90 degrees without slowing down.

Tail length 4–6 cm

A musk deer has thick impermeable fur that keeps the animal afloat in water and provides excellent heat insulation. This insulation is so good that when a musk deer lies on the snow to rest, the snow beneath it does not melt.

Body length 1 m

A running musk deer can change its direction by 90 degrees without slowing down.

Talan Island — a natural landmark

Talan is a marvelous island in the Sea of Okhotsk, 100 km from Magadan. Talan Island — a natural landmark (specially protected area) of federal importance — was founded in 1991. Its aim is to preserve in its natural state and study the landscape and wildlife of Northeast Asia. This island is home to one of the most significant seabird colonies in the northern part of the Sea of Okhotsk. Any activity on the natural landmark that is contrary to its objectives and does not conform to its special protection regime is prohibited.

Regions where the Company’s assets are located.

The territory of the nature reserve

species of birds

area of the island

Average annual air temperature

Talan Island is included in the list of Key Ornithological Territories of Russia (KOTR) of international importance.

Study and preservation of rare species of waterfowl and birds of prey

This small island is home to 147 species of birds. Approximately 1.8 mln birds live here, most of which are migratory. Birds are the real masters of the island with virtually no natural enemies. They find shelter in the rocks and screes, while Talan’s bays provide them with fish, krill and plankton to feed themselves.

You can observe kittiwakes, guillemots, puffins and horned puffins here, as well as crested and whiskered auklets, murrelets and cormorants. The island’s rare species include Steller’s sea eagle and peregrine falcon.

Zooplankton

Kittiwake

Guillemot

Horned puffin

Cormorant

Observing birds living on the island is of global research interest. Previously, scientists stayed here for several months at a temporary ornithological station. The island is surrounded by ice from late autumn to early spring, which makes it unreachable for researchers and scientific workers.

Now, thanks to the Protected Nature Reserves program, autonomous control and monitoring stations operate on Talan. Station cameras continuously livestream all year-round and transfer the data to researchers via wireless Internet. An original system was designed and installed just for this project, which includes subsystems for autonomous power supply and signal wireless transfer, as well as observation devices with mast-mounted equipment.

The autonomous station

Allows researchers to observe the birds in their natural habitat without disturbing them

Allows follow-up control of the bird population and behavior

Collects data from previously inaccessible locations

Cameras recorded inaccessible areas of the slopes where puffins, horned puffins and crested auklets build their nests. Researchers obtained a video recording of a flock of crested auklets hunting. The auklets fly off to fish synchronously, hunt from the water and then fly back all together. The researchers counted the number of birds and compared the data with previous observations.

Using advanced and reliable equipment increased the efficiency and quality of year-round control of compliance with the natural landmark’s security arrangements. It also improved the process of monitoring the main heritage sites — slopes with seabird breeding sites and nests of rare species of birds — without disturbing them. Remote monitoring made it possible to get unique data on the arrival timelines and biological properties of the monitored heritage sites in early spring and late autumn, when the ice conditions make the island inaccessible. It is important to continuously observe separate slopes areas where such species as puffins, horned puffins and crested auklet make their nests, and to get data on their behavior. The island’s ecosystem is protected and researched by specialists from the Russian Institute of Biological Problems of the North. The Institute and Polyus worked together to install the autonomous control and monitoring system on the island.

Horned puffin

Horned puffin (Fratercula corniculata)

the population is declining

Similar in appearance to its North Atlantic relative, the Atlantic puffin, except for a different colored beak and the horned puffin’s tiny «horns» — projections above the eyes. Horned puffins make nests in small caves, recesses and rock splits, and sometimes they occupy long holes. They make nests of feathers, leaves and grass and live in large colonies. A female and a male take turns to incubate a single egg. They feed the hatched nestling with small fish.

It carries 50–60 small fish
per flight

It dives down to 70 mfor fish

Both parents incubate the egg in turn for

40–43 days

Horned puffins are considered silent birds that occasionally make small sounds similar to croaking. When horned puffins make nests in small flocks in large areas, you might not hear a single sound from the birds.

To get airborne, a horned puffin needs to jump off a rock or run across the water, as it cannot take off from a horizontal surface on land. After taking off, the horned puffin can fly long distances in search of food.

The absence of air in the horned puffin’s feathers, its mobility and speed allow this bird to dive to a depth of more than 50 m.

Body length 30–40 cm

Chersky National Park

Chersky National Park named after A.V. Andreev is located on the upper course of the Kolyma River in Magadan Region. This is the newest nature park in Russia and was established in December 2022 at the initiative of specialists from the Russian Institute of Biological Problems of the North to preserve the unique landscapes and natural habitats of the catchment area of the upper course of the Kolyma River and archeological and geological sites of the southern spurs of the Chersky Range. The establishment and development of the Chersky National Park will help preserve the lakes and rivers of the upper course of the Kolyma River and related ancient human sites from the Mesolithic and Neolithic periods for future generations and make it easier to study them. Polyus, together with the Russian Institute of Biological Problems of the North and the Russian Geographical Society, conducts scientific and research expeditions in Omulyovsky 1 — the park’s most remote cluster.

Chersky national park territory has two large clusters: Jack London Lake and Omulyovsky Park This currently includes three large independent subclusters: Omulyovsky 1, Omulyovsky 2 and Omulyovsky 3. .

Regions where the Company’s assets are located.

The territory of the nature reserve

clusters

area

The Omulyovskoye middle mountains and Omulyovskoye plain are covered with unique mountain glaciers and lakes that are almost impassable. The north-western part of the Omulyovskoye middle mountains was initially investigated in 1974, and two endemic species of vascular plants, new to science, were described. Eleven species of plants are listed in the Red Book of Magadan Region and six in the Red Book of Yakutia.

Glaciers

Flying squirrel

Arctic ground squirrel

Fox

Stoat

In 2023, the Russian Institute of Biological Problems of the North, Russian Geographical Society and Polyus organized joint expeditions to the most inaccessible and least investigated areas of the eastern part of the Omulyovsky cluster, covering the eastern slopes and adjacent lowland of the Omulyovskoye middle mountains. The team of biologists was tasked with reviewing the area. The team included botanists, an ornithologist, a lichenologist (an expert in lichens) and a hydrobiologist.

6 years old — adult common sucker

7–10 degrees — appropriate temperature for spawning

92 kcal per 100 g — the common sucker is low-calorific.

The common sucker has a cylindrical-shaped body, which is why it is known as the «rolling pin» in Yakutia.

The lower crescent-shaped protractile mouth is fringed with fleshy lips scattered with lots of taste buds.

The fish is thickly covered with mucus (like tench).

Average body length 30.6 cm

The lower crescent-shaped protractile mouth is fringed with fleshy lips scattered with lots of taste buds.

The common sucker has a cylindrical-shaped body, which is why it is known as the «rolling pin» in Yakutia.

Sunnagino-Siliginsky Resource Reserve

The Sunnagino-Siliginsky Resource Reserve is located on the territory of Aldan District in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia). This is an underpopulated southern part of the republic occupying the Aldan shield. Its mountainous areas and caves store crystalline formations that are more than three billion years old. Along the Aldan River, there are deposits of diamonds, gold, coal, natural gas, ferrous, non-ferrous and rare metals, and tin — 59 types of raw material in total besides water resources.

Regions where the Company’s assets are located.

The territory of the nature reserve

Area of the resource reserve

Brown bear

Elk

Wapiti

Siberian grouse

Assessment of the current status of the Siberian grouse

Since 2022, Polyus has supported research activities on the territory of the resource reserve. The Siberian grouse is the main subject of the current status investigation and assessment. This is an endemic bird with a habitat in a small area in the Far East taiga between the coast of the Pacific Ocean and the Zeya River headwater.

As part of the project, laboratory investigations were conducted in 2022 into the factors impacting the survival of the grouse in the wild. In 2023, a winter expedition was organized to identify their current habitat. The researchers managed to find and photograph the rare birds and check the population size against previous reports. It was discovered that the number of grouse in the reserve had declined dramatically in comparison with the 2003 count. Therefore, we need to continue studying this species and work out measures for preserving the population.

Siberian grouse

Tetraonidae (falcipennis falcipennis)

near threatened

The Siberian grouse is not afraid of humans, which is why it was on the verge of extinction in the middle of the twentieth century. The current total number of Siberian grouse is unknown. As a rare species, this bird is included in the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List and the Red Books of Russia and Yakutia.

Brooding 23–25 days

Weight of one-day-old nestling 15–17 g

Beak length 1 cm

The color of these birds allows them to merge into the local environment and, in case of danger, the Siberian grouse tries to keep still.

Tail length 10–13 cm

Wing length 17–20 cm

Krasnoyarsk Pillars National Park

Krasnoyarsk Pillars National Park is the oldest nature conservation area in Krasnoyarsk Territory. Founded in 1925, it now covers over 48,000 km2 on the northwestern spurs of the Eastern Sayan Mountains.

This territory is accessible for visitors, and it is quite easy to get here by public transport from Krasnoyarsk. Environmental conditions in the conservation area, unlike in most specially protected natural areas, are quite specific and are determined by a combination of many factors, the most important of which are: proximity of the national park to a large industrial center and many years of land use (hunting, deforestation, intensive construction of cottages, etc.). Under these conditions, Krasnoyarsk Pillars National Park plays an important role in protecting and maintaining the territory’s biodiversity, including rare species.

Regions where the Company’s assets are located.

The territory of the nature reserve

total conservation zone

average annual air temperature

park area

The recreation area has about one million visitors annually.

Siberian roe deer

Ground squirrel

Sable

Osprey

Conservation of the natural population of wild cats (Eurasian lynx)

In 2023, Polyus, together with Krasnoyarsk Pillars National Park, launched a joint project on research into and preservation of the lynx. Notwithstanding its wide distribution, this species is still vulnerable and requires research and protection.

Given the predominantly secretive lifestyle of this wild cat, researchers need to find special methods for studying its life and counting its population and distribution over the territory. The lynx is included on the Red List of Krasnoyarsk Territory as a species with a shrinking population.

In addition, the number of visitors to the national park has increased over the last three or four years, and new tourist routes need to be developed. This could be critical for the wild animals that have populated these areas and not previously experienced any human impact in the national park. That is why the project’s main aim was to assess the risks involved in expanding the recreation network into the lynx’s habitat and manage the flow of tourists to preserve the natural breeding grounds of the wild cat and the habitat of ungulates, which are the nutritive base for this predator. In the future, Polyus plans to develop and support joint biodiversity conservation projects together with Krasnoyarsk Pillars National Park.

The Red Book

30 km — the distance it can cover in an hour

18-20 kg — the weight of an adult animal

It eats 2 kgof meat in a day

Much bigger and stockier than a fox

Lynxes are excellent swimmers and have ideal camouflage. Their spotted coloration makes them almost invisible in the taiga.

It has long tufts of hair on its ears

They have a short «bobbed» tail 20–40 cm

Body length 80–130 cm

Lynxes are excellent swimmers and have ideal camouflage. Their spotted coloration makes them almost invisible in the taiga.

We live and work in harsh but amazingly beautiful areas of our country. The unique nature of Siberia and the Far East fascinates and delights. It is both mighty and very delicate and stores immeasurable riches as well as rare, endangered species of plants and animals. Our goal is to manage our operations in such a way that we mine valuable resources without endangering natural diversity and preserve it for future generations.