Nord Gold to be Listed in London - Severstal

(REUTERS) -- Russian steelmaker Severstal said on Monday that a planned London listing of its Nord Gold mining unit would proceed after investors representing 10.6 percent of the share capital in the business participated in a share swap.

Russia's second-largest steelmaker in November announced that it would list Nord Gold global depository receipts (GDRs) in London if Severstal shareholders representing at least 5 percent of Nord Gold share capital agreed to exchange their Severstal shares.

Severstal, controlled by billionaire Alexei Mordashov, said investors exchanged a total of 20,374,385 securities, and that it expects to list the GDRs on Jan. 19.

We are delighted with the support shown for Nordgold by those shareholders that accepted the offer, Chief Executive Nikolai Zelenski said in a statement. As an independent, pure-play gold producer focussed on emerging markets I think we have huge potential to continue to grow the business and to deliver value to our shareholders.

Russian companies remain focused on the London stock exchange as the key platform for listings. Steelmaker Evraz and precious metals miner Polymetal joined the FTSE 100 index in December.

Severstal had planned an initial public offering of the unit for 2011, but was forced to cancel its plans after investors shunned Russian securities, citing concerns about high valuations and political risk.

Nord Gold also cut its output guidance last month, saying it expected 2011 output to reach 745,000-755,000 gold equivalent ounces, down from its earlier 800,000-840,000 ounces forecast.

It is expected to produce 800,000-850,000 gold equivalent ounces this year.

Polyus Gold, Russia's largest gold miner, produced 1.39 million ounces of gold in 2010.