Russia’s largest untapped copper deposit begins production

The oldest copper deposit unexploited Russia started producing copper concentrateafter a ceremony supervised by videoconference by the president Vladimir Putin.

The Udokan project, in the far east of Russia, comes online at a difficult time. The United States imposed sanctions on its operator – Udokan Copper LLC – in April as part of a wave of restrictions imposed on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.

Copper prices also fell 14% in 2022 and are flat year-to-date due to weaker-than-expected demand.

The project, however, is supported by its proximity to China, the main consumer of metals, and the demand from this country, as well as the future demand of the global ecological energy transition.

The Udokan processing plant will produce sulphided copper concentrate with a metal content of 40-45%, according to the company. It plans to make commercial sales this year, but has not yet revealed potential buyers.

Once the first phase of the metallurgical plant is commissioned in 2024, Udokan will be able to handle up to 15 million metric tons of ore per year, with an annual production of up to 150,000 tons of copper in the form of cathodes and copper concentrate.

The deposit is the largest in Russia, with copper resources estimated at 26.7 million tons. It has been untapped since its discovery in 1949 because the technology needed to exploit its unique and difficult-to-extract mineral did not exist.

Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov bought the right to mine Udokan for $500 million just before the 2008 financial crisis. It took 10 years to resolve the project’s technical challenges, create a new geological model and begin construction.

By 2028, Udokan plans to build the second phase of its mining and metallurgical complex, increasing annual capacity to 24-28 million tonnes of ore and up to 450,000 tonnes of copper.

Source: Reuters