KIEV, Jan. 24 - The Australian company Lugansk Gold plans to put some $50 million into the mining and refining of gold sulfide ores at the Bobrikovo deposit in Ukraine's Luhansk region, and has already spent roughly $2 million, the Perth-based company's Web site says, citing head of the Antratsyt regional administration Hennadiy Holovnenko.

"This is a long-term project of ten to fifteen years. The combine will be processing up to 500,000 tons of gold-containing ore annually, which will allow the production of 2 tons of gold per year," Holovnenko said.