The Russian gold and silver production company Polymetal managed to keep its long-range and short-term IDRs (issuer default ratings) from Fitch at “B”. Local currency default rating similarly remained at “B”. The national long-range rating was also confirmed at “BBB”. Outlooks on the long-term ratings are stable.  

The agency noted that Polymetal’s progress in broadening the structure of its reserves and its ability to maintain the mean mine life of 13 years buttress the ratings assignments. The expectations of the company’s performance are limited by the unpredictability in the world prices of precious metals.

Polymetal is a leading precious metals mining company. The company is in the top five of global primary silver producers, the largest silver and the fifth gold producer in Russia. In 2010, the company produced a record 444 thousand ounces of gold and 17.3 million ounces of silver.