Today, the Federal Agency for Subsoil Use (Rosnedra, administered by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Ecology of the Russian Federation) issued a license to LLC Polar Lithium, a joint venture between Norilsk Nickel and the Mining Division of the State Corporation Rosatom, to explore and extract minerals in a subsoil area of federal significance Kolmozerskoe.
Polar Lithium LLC received the right to develop the largest lithium deposit in Russia following the results of the auction, the results of which were summed up on February 8, 2023.
“The auction was held in the shortest possible time, this became possible thanks to the well-coordinated and effective cooperation of state bodies under the leadership of the Ministry of Natural Resources. In the future, Russia will receive large-scale production, which will replace the import of both lithium raw materials and battery components. We are at the beginning of a long journey, there is a lot to be done to get a new product, and we intend to quickly start working on the site,” commented Sergey Stepanov, Senior Vice President – Production Director of Norilsk Nickel.
According to Igor Demidov, Director General of Polar Lithium LLC, in order to reduce the time frame for the implementation of a strategically important project for the country, in the near future Nornickel Technical Services and a specialized enterprise of the Mining Division of Rosatom JSC RUSBURMASH will start additional geological exploration of the deposit at a faster pace .
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Discovered in 1947, Kolmozerskoye is the most promising Russian lithium deposit, which also contains beryllium, niobium and tantalum. Located in the Murmansk region.
The starting size of a one-time payment for the use of subsoil was 1,56 billion rubles, the final size of a one-time payment in accordance with the rules of the auction amounted to 1,718 billion rubles. The term of use of the site is 20 years. The Kolmozerskoye field development project involves the production of lithium carbonate and hydroxide in the amount of 45 tons per year. It is planned to reach the design capacity by 2030.