The FINANCIAL -- Kazakhstan's Industry and New Technologies Ministry hopes that a conflict stemming from Russia's Polyus purchase of a stake in KazakhGold will end in September, Deputy Minister Albert Rau said on September 2, Ria Novosti reports.

"Unfortunately, I can not comment on this, because investigation procedures have been initiated, law enforcement authorities have all the documents. In any case, we hope to solve the problem normally," Rau said, adding that the situation would become clearer in September.

In July, Kazakhstan launched proceeding to terminate a merger of Russia's top gold producer, Polyus Gold, and Kazakh gold miner KazakhGold Group Ltd, due to what claimed was the low price of the deal.

In December 2008, Polyus Gold estimated KazakhGold's controlling stake at $746 million, but the company's capital had fallen considerably and the companies later agreed on a merger valued at $269 million.

In early July, KazakhGold and Polyus Gold announced a reverse takeover, under which KazakhGold would acquire its parent company Polyus Gold.

The deal is aimed at merging the two companies into one holding, which will be traded on the London Stock Exchange as a single company, while Polyus Gold plans to delist its American Depositary Receipts from the LSE soon. The merged company is expected to become one the world's leading gold mining companies, whose shares will trade on the LSE.

Polyus Gold is the leading gold producer in Russia and Kazakhstan and the only Russian company among the world's largest gold producers. Polyus Gold's operating mines and development projects are located in five Russia's major gold mining regions, as well as in the Republic of Kazakhstan, Romania and Kyrgyzstan.

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