Lovozersky GOK to Boost Loparite Mining for Future Decades
In an exciting development for the high-tech sectors of Russian industry, the Lovozersky Mining and Processing Plant (Lovozersky GOK) has unveiled plans to significantly expand its mining operations in the Murmansk region. This ambitious initiative will ensure a steady supply of the rare-earth raw material, loparite ore, for an additional 80 years, securing critical resources for future generations.
The expansion is poised to take place at the Karnasurt deposit, alongside further exploration and development around Alluaiv Mountain. This strategic move will bolster the plant's capacity to ship up to 20,000 tonnes of loparite concentrate annually. With the potential development of the Alluaiv mountain deposit by 2031, this initiative represents a significant commitment to sustaining and enhancing Russia's position in the rare-earth metals sector.
Lovozersky GOK stands as the nation's sole enterprise dedicated to the mining and processing of loparite, a crucial source of tantalum, niobium, and titanium, among other rare-earth metals. The ore mined at the Karnasurt site, located within the Arctic Circle, is a key supply line to the Solikamsk Magnesium Plant. There, it undergoes processing to extract valuable metals and produce a collective concentrate of other rare-earth elements, including cerium, lanthanum, neodymium, and praseodymium.
Rosatom's mining division, which oversees the operation, has announced plans for a large-scale construction project to establish separation production facilities. This venture aims to kickstart the production of a range of rare-earth metals directly from loparite, further enhancing the strategic importance of Lovozersky GOK's operations.
In preparation for this expansion, designs for approximately 40 kilometers of underground mine workings at the Karnasurt mine are underway. By the end of 2024, Lovozersky GOK anticipates obtaining a license for the development of the deposit's south-western flank, with the goal of beginning concentrate supplies from these new areas to Solikamsk in 2025.
