Berezovskoye, a gold mining company in the Khanty Mansiisk Autonomous District, Russia plans to increase production of the metal to 1.5 tonnes per year in 2009 from the current 250 kg.

Company general director Vyacheslav Pantyukhov announced the plans during Governor Alexander Filipenko's visit to the Berezovsky district, home to the Khalmer-Yu group of deposits, the governor's press service reported.

The company's chief geologist, Georgia Kim told the governor that detailed geological surveys have been conducted at the prospective Talaiz and Vargavozh properties, as well as at Khalmer-Yu.

Commercial gold reserves at these properties are currently estimated at 10 tonnes, but geologists expect to confirm about another 30 tonnes of commercial reserves.

Berezovskoye, which mines the Khalmer and Ust-Maninskaya fields and the Sosnovoye deposit, plans to produce 250 kg of gold this year.

Moscow's Ekva-Mir owns 74.9% of Berezovskoye and the Khanty Mansiisk regional administration owns the other 25.1%