Russian state development bank VEB and a syndicate of commercial banks will invest over RUB 1.1 trillion ($13.4 billion) to develop the Baimskaya copper mine in the Chukotka region, Kallanish learns.

The project includes a mine, a processing plant, and necessary infrastructure such as a 428-kilometre-long road and a new port to ship the products via the Northern Sea Route. The construction of key internal infrastructure facilities, including a fuel storage facility, a power transmission line, and internal roads, has been completed.

The plant has an estimated annual ore processing capacity of 70 million tonnes, with an average annual copper production of 300,000 t in the first 10 years of operation.

Commercial operations are slated to begin in 2029, the government says in a statement.

The Baimsky plant is a “complex and extremely capital-intensive” project whose implementation has been “complicated” by factors including a lack of infrastructure, a polar climate and significant distance from industrial centres, notes Dmitry Grigorenko, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation.

“In this regard, the systemic participation of the state is becoming a mandatory condition for the implementation of the project,” he adds.

Although the deposit was discovered in 1972, it remained inaccessible for decades. Russian President Vladimir Putin launched the development of the Baimskaya ore zone in 2018, with Moscow approving the project’s roadmap in 2021. The state is also supporting the project with tax breaks and simplified administrative processes. 

The ore zone has 12 promising deposits of copper, gold and silver.