Zapadnaya seeks listing on UK stock exchange

An eastern Siberian gold mining company is the latest resources firm from the former Soviet Union looking for a chunky listing on the London Stock Exchange.

The little known Zapadnaya Gold Mining is trying to get a London flotation away before most of the City disappears in August. However, an industry source said there was just an "outside chance" of its beating the summer break, as the market is still seen as volatile, even after last week's FTSE rally.

Liberum Capital is understood to have already pre-marketed the listing, so potential investors know what Zapadnaya does. In 2010, Zapadnaya made $78.9m in revenue and $32m in earnings before debt, interest, depreciation and tax. This should value the company at about $350m at flotation.

One of the more famous former Soviet bloc miners on the FTSE is Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation (ENRC), which is conducting a review of its corporate governance after the removal of two non-executive directors, Sir Richard Sykes and Ken Olisa, in June.

The ownership structure of the company, with three oligarchs still major shareholders and having a combined shareholding of more than 40 per cent, has caused an outcry.

It is understood that as part of the review, ENRC is considering whether to instal one of those oligarchs, Alexander Mashkevich, as chairman.