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Russian company to start mining lithium in 2026

The nearest task for 2024 is to develop the process of lithium extraction from spodumene ore, the first deputy CEO of Atomredmetzoloto noted

MOSCOW, January 19. /TASS/. Polar Lithium, a joint venture of Rosatom and Norilsk Nickel, plans to produce the first pilot batch of lithium in 2026, First Deputy CEO of Atomredmetzoloto, a mining division of Rosatom, said during a dialog with stakeholders on key results of mining division’s operations in 2023.

"Lithium mining start was planned from the outset in 2029 but we intend now to launch the first stage of five thousand metric tons as early as in 2026," Alexey Shemetov said. Investments of the company into the lithium project are about 49 bln rubles ($549.4 mln), he noted. The nearest task for 2024 is to develop the process of lithium extraction from spodumene ore, the senior executive added.

Polar Lithium obtained the license to develop the Kolmozerskoe Deposit in the Murmansk Region in 2023. The deposit contains 18.9% of Russian lithium reserves and is the most promising in the country. Forecast reserves stand at 13.5 mln metric tons of ore and 152,600 metric tons of lithium oxide.

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