Russian metal producers are hit by wave of fires – Reuters
In recent months, Russian metal producers have been hit by a wave of fires, including the latest in a series of events, a fire at the yet-to-be-launched Udokan plant in Transbaikalia, which is expected to become the largest copper project in Russia and the world.
This is reported by Reuters, Censor.NET reports with reference to Ekonomichna Pravda.
"In recent months, Russian metal producers have been hit by a spate of fires, including at an aluminum smelter and a zinc mine," the agency notes.
At the same time, it is emphasized that such fires under sanctions create problems for Russia in finding the mining and processing equipment needed to replace damaged equipment.
Not only existing enterprises are burning, but also those that are only in the development phase.
According to Reuters, on December 30, a fire broke out at one of the largest copper projects in Russia and the world, damaging one of the buildings of the plant that has not yet been launched. Allegedly, a future extraction shop caught fire during construction work.
Udokan Copper, the project operator, declined to comment on whether the damage would delay the start of cathode copper production at the plant. They only said they were still assessing the damage.
" Udokan Copper planned to launch a hydrometallurgical plant in the second quarter of 2024 and produce up to 135 thousand tons of copper in the form of cathode copper or copper concentrate per year, according to its announcement on December 20. As expected in Russia, the annual capacity of the enterprise will increase to 150 thousand tons in 2026.
Udokan is Russia's largest undeveloped copper deposit, which is already under Washington's sanctions.
At the same time, Russia is counting on the proximity of the Asian region, including China, and is already discussing off-take contracts with major buyers.
As a reminder, the construction of the largest mining and metallurgical plant Udokan at the copper deposit of the same name in Trans-Baikal is being carried out by the Baikal Mining Company, which belongs to the holding of billionaire Alisher Usmanov. The project launch ceremony was attended by Russian President Vladimir Putin. Udokan is one of the world's largest and Russia's largest undeveloped copper deposits with reserves of about 26.7 million tons.
