In the Tomsk region, the construction of the Tugansky mining and processing plant "Ilmenit" was completed and production was launched.
Ruslan Dimukhamedov, General Director of United Uranium Enterprises LLC, and an authorized representative of the existing shareholders told the editorial staff of the Rare Earths magazine about what priority social tasks were faced by the project participants, what difficulties arose, and what the project means for the rare earth industry as a whole.
JSC TGOK Ilmenit - investment fund LLC Izurium Capital Advisors (Rus) LTD. (Izurium investment fund) Roman Mironchik.
RZ: When the project earns enough money, what will you spend it on?
Roman Mironchik: We are planning to develop Tugansky GOK and build the next stage. This will entail an increase in jobs, but in general, this project is one of the city-forming projects in Tomsk. And all future enterprises, which can also be built and launched, carry not only a social, but also an advanced technological function of Russia's development.
RZ: How important is the human factor in the preparation of the Tugansk GOK project?
Ruslan Dimukhamedov: Indeed, we do not perceive the Tugansk GOK as a project in which we invested money yesterday, and tomorrow we start earning and experience difficulties where we should spend this money. Our contribution to development is jobs. Already today it is great to see how women, men from the village of "Malinovka" come to the plant, work in excellent conditions, being engaged in high-tech production. They feel proud, they have a job, a salary. This is the most important contribution. After we debug the first stage, we have to build the second part, which is 5 times more powerful. This is a life project that we will leave behind for posterity.
RZ: When will the second stage be launched?
Ruslan Dimukhamedov: We will resolve the issue of construction of the second stage at the end of 2022, when we clearly understand our sales line. We must interest all buyers in our products so that they want it at least 5 times more. After that, we can start designing the construction. It is too early to talk about plans to expand the pool of investors, but we are ready to see anchor buyers among the participants in the project. If necessary, we will involve the RM and REE Association in this matter.
RZ: What is the difficulty in launching an enterprise of this magnitude?
Ruslan Dimukhamedov: People without a project can move on, a project without people cannot. We understood that it was necessary to move this project forward, and finally we came to the launch of the enterprise. I believe that the Titan project is the ideal blueprint for how such large enterprises should be built. There was an understandable good combat base, a large technological reserve. It was clear where and how to sell these products. But the difference between the modern conditions of post-Soviet Russia and the Soviet Union lies in the fact that even with a good military base, good technology and an understanding of how to sell these products, you need to take into account a whole host of nuances that are characteristic of today's market economy. Participants must agree on a variety of views, have a common vision for the future of the project and a strategy for its development, take into account mutual interests, so that it would be really profitable and interesting for everyone to work. Participants must resolve the issues of attracting funding, prove to all skeptics that this project can and should take place. You also need to reach each interested participant (stakeholder), build interaction with regional and federal authorities that oversee the project. It is necessary to prove the importance of this project, and when all the pieces of the puzzle fit together in the best way, you can approach the launch of the enterprise. This is the reason for the difficulty of launching production in today's post-Soviet period, and, of course, it's great that we were able to close our deal and finally complete the construction of Tugansky GOK, which we will continue to scale.