Short description of Polyus Group

In this annual report, the terms Polyus Group, OJSC Polyus Gold, Polyus Gold, Company, and Group all refer to Open Joint-Stock Company Polyus Gold, its subsidiaries and associates, whose performance results are consolidated by OJSC Polyus Gold in accordance with the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). OJSC Polyus Gold was incorporated in March 2006 as a result of the spin-off of the gold mining assets of OJSC “MMC Norilsk Nickel” (in this report, information regarding the Company’s activity before March 2006 refers to CJSC Polyus, its subsidiaries and associates).

Polyus Group expanded activities beyond the Russian Federation in 2009. The Company’s assets are currently located in 4 countries: the Russian Federation, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Romania. The Company is the largest gold producer in the Russian Federation, one of the largest producers of the metal in Kazakhstan and among the largest gold mining companies in the world by production volume and resource base. In the Russian Federation, the Company is engaged in gold mining and exploration in 5 regions:

• Krasnoyarsk
• Irkutsk
• Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)
• Magadan
• Amur

Shares of OJSC Polyus Gold are traded on the two leading Russian stock exchanges: RTS and MICEX. American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”) for the Company’s shares are traded on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange (“LSE”), and on over-the-counter (“OTC”) market in the USA. The Company’s shares are included in the calculation of Russian stock indices of RTS, MICEX АК&M, and world stock indices of FTSE (12 indices, including FTSE Gold Mines), MSCI (3 indices) and Dow Jones (3 indices). At 31 December 2009, the Company's market capitalization was USD 10.1 billion.

Global Depositary Receipts (“GDRs”) of KazakhGold Group Limited, a member of Polyus Group, are traded on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange.

The Company’s Mission – to develop nature’s and human potential for the benefit of shareholders, employees
and the community.

The Company Strategic Vision:

	International public company with shares quoted on the world’s leading stock exchanges
	The leader in the Russian gold mining industry and a global top-5 gold mining company by market capitalization, volumes of reserves and production
	Modern company complying with high standards of corporate governance, an attractive investment target
	Responsible company caring about its employees, environment and local communities in the regions of its operations; among most admired employers in the regions of its presence
	Innovative company striving to continuously improve
	A reliable partner, always delivering on its promises

The Company has already achieved almost all of the targets set by its strategic vision, and is now focused on entering the top-5 of the global mining in the coming years, to fulfill the missing one: a global top-5 mining company.

Table 1. Key assets of OJSC Polyus Gold

Production

¹Licenses for alluvial deposits are held by various entities that are not under the direct ownership of OJSC Polyus Gold. The holdings constitute
40.4% to 66.2%. However, for the purpose of financial reporting (IFRS 27) and for reserve estimation, the Company consolidates all of the financial results of these entities and accounts for all of their reserves in the Group’s reserves.

²The production results of the Company’s assets in Kazakhstan are given for the period from August to December 2009.

In addition to the above assets, the Company has a large portfolio of projects at various stages of development
in the Russian Federation, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Romania.

Locations of the key assets of Polyus Gold