News that Rosatom Corporation, owned by the Russian state is planning to begin lithium mining operations with the purpose of selling it, has just surfaced. It appears that the company also intends to extract and sell other metals that are used in the production of batteries.
The decision seems to have been a result of the increase in popularity of electric vehicles and the recent developments in the energy storage industry, as well as the collapse in uranium ore prices.
Kirill Komarov, the company’s first deputy head stated that the corporation is planning to develop the entire infrastructure needed in order to create lithium batteries, from scratch. This appears to be perfectly realistic, considering that Rosatom already has a unit that produces lithium compounds.
A recent USB Group AG report specified that lithium carbonate prices have doubled in the last couple of years, reaching $14,000 per metric ton.
Komarov also explained that the corporation intends to shift its strategies in order to get 30% of its revenue from sources other than nuclear energy, by 2030.
A subsidiary of Rosatom is currently negotiating to reopen a lithium mine in East Siberia, which was shut down in the 1990s.
On a similar note, Uranium One, a Rosatom unit based out of Toronto has stated that a new trading outpost will be opened in Zud, Switzerland, in order to trade lithium, among other things.
Komarov has also specified that if uranium prices do not recover in the near future, mining operations will be severely affected. The company’s planned change of direction is a result of this fact.
