Discovery of '113-year-old Russian warship' sparks goldmine hopes

A South Korean company believes it has found the remains of a 113-year-old Russian warship and there are rumours it was carrying 200 tonnes of gold when it sank.

The Shinil Group says its divers are certain they've found the Dmitri Donskoi, which sank in off an eastern Korean island in 1905 during the Russo-Korean war.

There are unsubstantiated rumours that the ship was carrying 200 tonnes of gold and the Seoul-based firm intends to hoist the ship to the surface to find out.

The rumours have sparked a huge rise in the share price of a local company, Jeil Steel, which is partially-owned by Shinil Group.

Jeil's stock prices sharply rose after Shinil's gold claims on Monday before they dropped more than 20 percent after Thursday's trading.

There is scepticism about Shinil's claim and the Financial Supervisory Service is closely monitoring trade activity involving the shares of Jeil Steel.