Russia’s ministry of natural resources (MNR) announced plans to produce at least 60,000 metric tons of lithium carbonate in 2030.
This comes as the Kremlin seeks to reduce Russian dependency on imports and produce more high-capacity electric vehicles (EVs).
The MNR said that it has roughly 3.5 million tons of lithium oxide, concentrated in three federal districts of Russia. These are:
- Siberia which has 43% of the countries reserves
- The Northwest region which has 34.4% of its reserves
- In the Far-Eastern region of Russia, which has almost 23%.
The US Geological Survey said it estimated Russia’s lithium reserves to be about 1 million tons in 2024, which would make it the world’s 14th largest.
Alexander Kozlov, the Russian minister of national resources, said: “Today there are 17 lithium deposits in the country. The largest of them is Kolmozerskoye in the Murmansk region, it contains a quarter of the countries’ balance reserves.”
This reserve, operated by Polar lithium as a joint venture between Russian metals company Nornickel and state-owned nuclear firm Rosatom, is claimed to have 844,200 tons of lithium.
Chinese-owned MCC International joined the lithium development in August 2024, according to the Barents Observer.
Critical minerals such as lithium gained attention in recent months alongside and rare earth metals due to US President Trump’s offering of productional deals with Russia and Ukraine.
It is said those deals would counter Chinese dominance in the market.
The Russian MNR said it has reduced a tax on extraction of minerals to increase lithium production.
It said industrial lithium production will start in 2030 in the country.
