A radioactive well-logging capsule that went missing in East Siberia earlier this month has been found hundreds kilometres away from a route where its owner, Russian privately held oilfield services contractor TNG Group, thought it had been lost.

A TNG Group spokesperson said it had received a tip regarding the whereabouts of the missing container holding the radioactive capsule from “third parties” that were not directly involved in the search effort.

According to the tip, the container was spotted lying in snow next to a temporary winter road about 600 kilometres away from the town of Ust-Kut.

The spokesperson said company representatives travelled to the location at the end of last week and confirmed the find.

TNG Group said last week that its employees reported the capsule containing Caesium-137 had gone missing along the 100-kilometre winter road from Ust-Kut to the settlement of Nepa sometime between 12 and 13 January while it was being carried to a scheduled well-logging operation.

The location of the capsule has been fenced and is being guarded as TNG waits for police to investigate.

The container with the capsule will be moved to a temporary location where it will remain while the investigation unfolds, according to the spokesperson.

TNG executive director Ian Sharipov had announced a reward of 200,000 roubles ($2200) for the return of the missing container but no one has yet come forward to claim it, the spokesperson said.