Udokan (Russia) (AFP)
In 1949, a Soviet expedition was looking for uranium in Siberia to supply the national nuclear arsenal when it came across a huge copper deposit.
More than 70 years later, a mining complex in the Far East of Russia between Lake Baikal and the Pacific Ocean is finally due to go into operation next year.
With copper being the key to the global energy transition away from carbon, there is hope that it will be a boon to Russia and beyond.
“The long-awaited project is a long-awaited event in the life of the Far East and the entire mining industry of Russia and the world,” said Valery Kazikayev, chairman of Udokan Copper, the company developing the site.
Kazikajew, who makes the nine-hour flight from Moscow to the mine twice a month, took AFP journalists on a tour at the end of September.
At an altitude of 2,000 meters (6,500 feet), the heavy snow covering the mine gives an idea of the difficulty of getting it operational.
“The Soviet Union was unable to develop these deposits,” said Kasikajew, 66, at the site where construction began in 2019.
Copper is the key to the global energy transition from carbon Natalia KOLESNIKOVA AFP
The mine is located in a seismic zone as well as on permafrost ground, which remains completely frozen year round. Temperatures can drop to minus 60 degrees Celsius (minus 76 degrees Fahrenheit) in winter.
These conditions mean that the development of the site is “difficult”, said Kazikajew, noting that “the construction is very expensive”.
– The new ‘black gold’ –
Work to extract copper ore has begun and workers are busy setting up explosives to blast the permafrost so the excavation can continue.
With more than 26 million tons of copper, the mine claims to be the largest undeveloped deposit in Russia and the third largest in the world about 6,500 kilometers (4,000 miles) east of Moscow.
Valery Kazikayev, chairman of Udokan Copper, travels to the site twice a month Natalia KOLESNIKOVA AFP
To develop the project, Udokan Copper – which acquired the license in 2008 and is part of billionaire Alisher Usmanov’s USM holding company – raised nearly $ 3 billion from Russian banks.
The company also took advantage of preferential terms for the development of the Far East of Russia, a neglected and isolated region.
The extensive investments are expected to bear fruit.
The price of copper, also known as the “new black gold”, has soared to historic heights this year – and shows no signs of slowing.
“In the next 15 years, the demand for copper will increase by 30 percent,” while the “green economy” is growing, said Yulia Buchneva, an analyst at Fitch Ratings in Moscow.
Due to its thermal and electrical conductivity, copper plays a key role in renewable energies and green technologies.
In particular, she mentioned the growing production of electric vehicles that rely on copper.
Udokan Copper has its sights set on the Asian markets, particularly China, South Korea and Japan, where demand is high.
To reach these markets, the company is relying on the Baikal-Amur Main Line (BAM), which is currently still being worked on.
The line was built alongside the deposits in the early 1980s, in part to achieve the goal of extracting the area’s mineral wealth.
– Logistic challenges –
The BAM, which stretches for more than 4,000 kilometers across Siberia to the Pacific, is a major Soviet project and a financial abyss.
Udokan Copper hopes to be able to send its cathodes and copper condensates by rail to the Chinese border or Russian ports on the Sea of Japan at some point.
Kazikajew notes that the mine is 2,000 kilometers closer to Tokyo than Moscow.
Nevertheless, the logistical challenges in an isolated and icy expanse are enormous.
The company had to build a power station to provide the energy for the work.
A road had to be built to the nearest airport, which has a wooden terminal.
And it had to bring 4,000 construction workers from Siberia and the former Soviet republics to the area where several hundred members of the indigenous Evenk reindeer herders live.
The company had to hire 4,000 construction workers Natalia KOLESNIKOVA AFP
The site’s deputy general manager Alexei Yaschuk said the team is now used to extreme conditions.
“The biggest challenge is keeping the roads in good condition. Bulldozers are constantly working,” the 44-year-old told AFP.
They only stop when temperatures drop below minus 35 degrees and visibility is less than 50 meters.
“The storms and snowfalls are pretty heavy here.”
© 2021 AFP
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