MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 29th June, 2023) Russia's proven lithium reserves are sufficient to supply both its own needs and exports, Russian Environment Minister Alexander Kozlov said on Thursday.
"The lithium reserves that we have explored in the country are sufficient to meet our own needs and also to establish exports," Kozlov said in an interview with Russian NTV channel.
Kozlov noted that tax rates were reduced to develop exploration and mining of scarce metals, including lithium. This has already yielded results, he said.
In February, the ministry said that Arctic Lithium, a joint venture of Russia's state-owned nuclear energy company Rosatom and metallurgical company Nornikel, received an exploration and production license for the Polmostundra lithium deposit in the northwestern region of Murmansk. Nornikel also said that another venture jointly established with Rosatom received exploration permission for the Kolmozersk deposit in the same region.
The Kolmozersk deposit contains 18.9% of Russia's lithium reserves, and it is the most promising lithium ore deposit in the country. The state balance at the beginning of 2021 includes 843,645 tons of lithium oxide reserves. Prognostic P1 resources of Kolmozersk amount to 13.5 million tons of ore and 152.6 thousand tons of lithium oxide.
