The cooperation agreement between the Government of the Murmansk Region and Polar Lithium LLC was signed today within the framework of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.
The document was signed by the Governor of the Murmansk Region Andrey Chibis and the General Director of Polar Lithium LLC Igor Demidov. The parties plan to cooperate within the framework of the Kolmozersk lithium deposit development project.
In particular, it is planned to cooperate in holding joint working meetings, thematic seminars, round tables to develop common approaches during the implementation of the project. The parties will devote special efforts to the development and implementation of measures aimed at reducing damage to the environment during the industrial development of the Kolmozersky deposit, as well as the development of the infrastructure of the territory.
"On the basis of the Kolmozersky deposit, located in the Murmansk region, facilities for the extraction and processing of lithium raw materials will be created with the subsequent production of lithium carbonate. The deposit is one of the largest, it contains about 19% of all lithium reserves in the country. Thanks to lithium mining projects, Lovozersky district has another growth point. And we will work with the company within the framework of the concluded agreement on the specification of measures aimed at updating the social infrastructure taking into account new opportunities," the governor concluded.
Igor Demidov, General Director of Polar Lithium, commented: "The development of the deposit will make it possible to create the first domestic production of lithium-containing raw materials, which will play an important role in providing strategically necessary materials to advanced enterprises in Russia. In particular, the products are intended for the Rosatom State Corporation project — a gigafactory for the production of lithium-ion batteries in the Kaliningrad region, the launch of which is scheduled for 2025."
Additional exploration of the field will begin in the coming months and will be implemented by the competencies of Norilsk Nickel Technical Services and JSC RUSBURMASH (exploration and drilling company of the Mining Division of Rosatom).
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Discovered in 1947, Kolmozerskoye is the most promising Russian deposit of lithium ores. It is located in the Lovozersky district of the Murmansk region in the western part of the Cave ridge near Lake Kolmozero. The types of minerals in the subsurface area include lithium, beryllium, niobium and tantalum.
Polar Lithium LLC, a joint venture of the Mining Division of Rosatom State Corporation and PJSC MMC Norilsk Nickel, received the right to develop Russia's largest lithium deposit based on the results of an auction, the results of which were announced on February 8, 2023.
The domestic mineral resource base makes it possible for various industries to produce a wide variety of products. Russia is able to provide itself with the main types of minerals. An increase in the depth of processing of raw materials, a cluster approach to the development of individual deposits, the creation of a new model of industry management based on digitized data should ensure the country's raw sovereignty. Rosatom takes an active part in this work.
/ Ministry of Information Policy of the Murmansk Region /