Miner strikes gold in FTSE 100
Peter HAMBRO’S Russian gold-mining operation Petropavlovsk is tipped to go into the FTSE 100 for the first time later this month after the next quarterly reshuffle of the blue-chip index.
However, travel firm Thomas Cook, which takes more holidaymakers to the crisis-hit emirate of Dubai than any other tour operator, is set to lose its blue-chip status when the latest reshuffle is announced this week.
Ascension to the top-flight group of companies tops a golden year for Hambro, a scion of the banking family.
The firm he founded is now worth £2.4 billion as the price of gold has hit record highs this year.
When it first listed as Peter Hambro Mining in 2002, it was valued at £35 million.
It will also be the latest sign that Hambro’s gamble on a rundown mining operation in a remote part of Russia near the Chinese border appears to have paid off, despite the threat of interference from the Russian authorities.
The miner reported production had soared 29 per cent in the nine months to the end of September.
The rise, which confirms its position as third-largest gold producer in Russia, was mainly because of increased output at its Pioneer mine.