Lithium, which has recently been called the “new white gold” due to the rapid growth of its consumption around the world, will become available within the country.
Currently, Russia is completely dependent on lithium imports, despite the fact that the country’s reserves of this metal are third in the world.
The head of Rosnedra, Evgeny Petrov, reported that the Polar Lithium company (a joint venture between Rosatom and Norilsk Nickel) will move to pilot production in less than a year and a half.
“These are simply unprecedented periods in the history of such complex, integrated deposits for their commissioning. All this will literally provide our country with lithium next year, which we are still importing,” he said.
Petrov recalled that in 2023, the department held auctions for the Polmostundrovskoye and Kolmozerskoye lithium deposits.
According to Rosnedra, the country’s reserves of lithium amount to 3.5 million tons, or 7.2% of the world’s. There is currently no industrial mining of this metal in Russia.
Obtaining lithium sovereignty will allow Russia to reduce its dependence on imports and stimulate the development of domestic industry related to the use of lithium. Lithium is a necessary component for the production of lithium-ion batteries, which are used in batteries for mobile devices, electric vehicles and other energy-saving technologies. The growing demand for these technologies makes lithium one of the most sought-after resources of the future.