MURMANSK, April 14. /TASS/. Polar Lithium, developing a lithium deposit in the Murmansk Region, does not rule out using a concession mechanism to build a road to the deposit, head of the company's public and government relations department, Vasily Zakharov, told TASS.
The Kolmozersk lithium deposit is located in the Murmansk Region's Lovozersky District. It is considered to be Russia's largest and most promising deposit of the kind. The license has been issued to the Polar Lithium Company, a joint venture between Rosatom and Norilsk Nickel.
"Polar Lithium confirms we may use the concession mechanism," the company's representative said. "The road is necessary to develop the Kolmozersk deposit and the region. Its parameters however will be determined after the project documentation is ready."
The concession mechanism, where a private investor invests in infrastructures, and the state compensates for the expenses in the future, operates in the Arctic and the Far East. Previously, similar options have been eyed, for example, for construction of a road to the Baim mining and processing plant in Chukotka and to the Kyuchus gold deposit in Yakutia.
A mining and processing plant for the extraction and enrichment of lithium at the Kolmozersk deposit will be built and launched in the Murmansk Region by 2031. It is planned to process about 2 million tons of ore a year. So far, Polar Lithium has completed field exploration and is working on feasibility study. Engineering surveys and technology development are underway.