As it became known, Argentina and Chile have stopped supplying the Russian Federation with lithium raw materials, which are also used for the production of batteries. Well, lithium has also left Russia … It is true that the Ministry of Industry and Trade assured that there is also a third supplier – Bolivia, and it continues to supply this rare metal. This raw material is also extracted in China, but this country itself is facing a dire shortage for its needs.
In Russia, lithium mining has been completely lost, although it was carried out in the USSR.
At the same time, the Russian Federation has the capacity to process raw materials, companies are involved in this, taking into account both domestic needs and export supplies. But in case Bolivia also fails, we have nowhere to go for lithium raw materials. And then there may be a big problem in meeting our own lithium needs in lithium-ion batteries, the Ministry of Industry and Commerce does not hide.
In order to start mining lithium raw materials on the territory of the Russian Federation, it is necessary to expedite the issuance of licenses for the operation of such enterprises. There is lithium in the artificial dumps of the Zavitinsky deposit in the Trans-Baikal region, and the deposits in the Murmansk region can also be developed.
However, it should be noted that in the automotive industry, lithium is only used in lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles. For civilian purposes, such batteries have: So far, we have only been produced by the Novosibirsk company Liotech, which is now on the verge of bankruptcy. In addition, the company’s products were used to meet the needs of passenger transport, including electric buses, which until recently were actively introduced in the capital. As you know, we do not yet have electric vehicles for serial passenger cars, although several companies are conducting experimental developments and there is a chance that they will appear.
Russian battery-producing enterprises tried to produce lithium-ion batteries, but without domestic raw materials, such products would have turned out “golden”, so this idea was abandoned. Lithium is used for the production of batteries in the defense industry, but since there is a government contract there, the prices of raw materials are not critical.
If it were possible to establish the production of lithium raw materials in Russia, this would not only help domestic electric vehicle manufacturers to get on their feet, but also a new revenue line would appear in the budget – the demand for this metal is only growing all over the world, and it could be exported.
Expert commentary
Mikhail Kolodochkincolumnist “Driving:
— Does Russia need lithium? Of course you need it – and it’s not just about lithium batteries and electric cars. Add here thermoelectric transducers, pharmacology, aluminum alloys and much more. And also – note (!): Lithium is used in nuclear power and in the defense industry. In general, we have to find a way out. If Bolivia joins the sanctions of “good neighbors” on the planet, it will be even “more fun”.
Today, total world supplies of lithium are about fifty million tons, of which ten are in Argentina, nine in Bolivia, eight and a half in Chile, seven in China, six and a half in the United States, and five are in Australia. However, Russia also has its own lithium reserves, estimated at five million tons, but we have never really developed them and prefer to buy crucial raw materials abroad.
On the one hand, it was right: your own money isn’t going anywhere, but it’s not a shame to spend someone else’s. On the other hand, we are too used to buying everything. So now we have to adjust a bit. According to my information, we have enterprises that can organize industrial production of lithium and its compounds even tomorrow. We are talking about factories in Krasnoyarsk, Novosibirsk and near Tula. And domestic lithium is in the Murmansk region, in Eastern Siberia and possibly elsewhere. We have to take it and put it into practice. Let’s save money at the same time!
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