MOSCOW, October 19. /TASS/. 25 bln rubles ($401.4 mln) will be needed to execute Pavlovskoe lead-zinc ore deposit development project on the Novaya Zemlya archipelago in the Arctic Ocean, Chief Executive of First Ore Mining Company [subsidiary of Russian state corporation Rosatom - TASS] Alexander Lukin told TASS on Wednesday.

"About 3 bln rubles have already been spent for creation of Russia’s northernmost facility for mining and processing of lead-zinc ore, while 25 bln rubles ($401.4 mln) should be injected in total into capital construction," Lukin said. "These will be partly provided by Rosatom and investors will contribute the remaining amount," the top manager said.

The company managed to complete exploration of the deposit and book resources, Lukin said. "These are 3 mln tonnes of metal, including 2.5 mln tonnes of zinc, 500,000 tonnes of lead, and about 1,200 tonnes of silver. Two mineral occurrences are located nearby. There will be approximately 80 mln tonnes of ore if counting together with them," he added.

Pavlovskoe deposit will be mined by an open-pit method. A mining and concentration facility at the deposit is scheduled to be launched in 2021. It will have the capacity to process 3.5 mln tonnes of ore and produce 320,000 tonnes of zinc and lead concentrate per year. "Lead will go to the domestic market experiencing high shortage of it and to China, while the bulk of zinc concentrate will be exported for processing to European countries, particularly to Swedish Boliden’s plants in Norway and Finland," Lukin said.

Pavlovskoe complex ore deposit has the area over 12 square kilometers and is among top five Russian deposits in terms of zinc resources and top ten by lead resources.