The Moscow-headquartered firm increased gold production by 10% quarter on quarter and 9% year on year to 753koz. Volumes of ore mined rose by 38% quarter on quarter, driven by intensified mining activities at the Blagodatnoye mine in central Russia and the Natalka mine in Russia's far east.

"Polyus has had a strong third quarter, setting a new historical high in quarterly total gold output, with 753 thousand ounces produced in the reporting period," said Pavel Grachev, CEO of Polyus.

"We remain well on track proceeding with the company-wide debottlenecking initiatives. Taking those factors into account, as well as Natalka operating at full capacity, we are confirming our production guidance of approximately 2.8 million ounces of gold for the full year," Grachev added.

The company's estimated gold sales rose by 20% quarter on quarter to US$1,061 million, boosted by gold prices that were up 13% versus Q2 at an average of $1,482/oz.

Polyus also managed to reduce its net debt to $3,317 million, down 8.8% from the corresponding figure at the end of Q2.