After a 25-year hiatus, Russia began extracting lithium ores, the strategic metal used in the manufacture of electric batteries and components of the nuclear and space industries.
A joint venture between the “Nornickel” company and the Russian Atomic Energy Agency “Rosatom” began investing the largest mine for these ores in Russia.
It is noteworthy that Russia ranks third in the world in terms of lithium reserves. The Soviet Union occupied the second place in the production of this metal after the United States. But in 1997, Russia stopped production operations after the decline in the world price of these raw materials and started importing them from Latin America and China.
Last year, Russia stopped importing this substance from Argentina and Chile due to Western sanctions, and this was accompanied by a very sharp rise in the prices of this substance – the price of one ton in 2022 reached more than 80 thousand dollars.
As of this year, the aforementioned joint venture “Polar Lithium” has begun to invest in the huge Kolmozirsky deposits in the Murmansk region.
These reservoirs were discovered in 1947, but due to the lack of demand for this mineral, work on them stopped. Now the metal is in high demand due to the 75% growth in the production of electric vehicles. Over the past two years, its prices have skyrocketed. Analysts expect the trend to continue for a long time.
