Billionaire Alisher Usmanov, half-owner of Russia’s Metalloinvest mine, is in the race to develop the Udokan copper field.  

Several companies have already submitted bids, including Norilsk Nickel (GMKN.MM: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), Russia’s largest copper miner, and Strikeforce Mining and Resources Ltd (SMR), the mining arm of billionaire Oleg Deripaska’s Basic Element company.

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State conglomerate Russian Technologies, which has steel and titanium assets, said earlier this month it was negotiating the formation of a team to develop Udokan with potential winners.

Nikolai Volobuyev, deputy head of the industrial giant, said it was interested in Udokan as the Russian government had effectively handed over to Russian Technologies its 49 percent stake in Mongolian copper miner Erdenet, based close to Udokan. (Reporting by Polina Devitt, writing by Aleksandras Budrys, Peter Blackburn).

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