Rosatom Resumes "Bolshoi Elkon" Project to Secure Uranium Supply for the Country for Centuries

Rosatom is resuming the implementation of the large uranium project "Bolshoi Elkon," which will provide the Russian nuclear industry with raw materials for hundreds of years to come. According to the industry newspaper "Strana Rosatom," citing Yuri Trubakov, Deputy Director for Strategic Development of the Elkon Mining and Metallurgical Combine (EGMC), the company is starting to revive the project, which was frozen after the Fukushima nuclear accident.

EGMC was established to develop the Northern and Southern sections of the Elkon uranium ore region in Yakutia. Currently, gold is extracted from the mined ore at the Northern deposit in pilot operation mode: 700 kg were obtained in 2024, and the plan for 2025 is 1.4 tons. By the end of next year, the enterprise will be put into commercial operation, and from 2027 it will produce about 3 tons of gold annually.

At the same time, the combine is preparing additional exploration of the Northern and Druzhnoe deposits based on the recommendations of the State Commission on Mineral Reserves. After the approval of permanent conditions, the active phase of the "Bolshoi Elkon" project will begin.

By 2036, the company plans to process up to 2.5 million tons of ore and produce about 2 thousand tons of uranium per year. Balance reserves of 357 thousand tons will provide the industry with uranium for at least 140 years.

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