The joint venture between Rosatom and Norilsk Nickel, "Polar Lithium," has launched pilot production at the Kolmozerskoye deposit in the Murmansk region. This marks the first resumption of lithium production in the country since the closure of the Zavitinskoye deposit in Transbaikalia in the late 1990s.
Kolmozerskoye deposit is the largest in Russia: it contains 75 million tons of lithium ore, which constitutes 18.9% of the national reserves. The resource base is sufficient for 40 years of continuous operation. The planned capacity is 45 thousand tons of lithium carbonate and hydroxide annually, which is equivalent to approximately one-third of the current global production volume.
The company intends to process 1.96 million tons of ore annually. The majority of the production will be directed to Rosatom's gigafactory in Kaliningrad, which is scheduled to launch in 2026. This will allow the formation of a closed-loop production cycle for lithium-ion batteries in Russia — from raw materials to finished energy storage devices.
