Gazprom Will Allocate Funds for the Exploration of Mineral Resources in the Irkutsk Region
Gazprom will allocate 3.5 billion rubles for the geological exploration of the subsoil at the Lithium site in the Irkutsk region, including the search and evaluation of industrial groundwater deposits, follows from the state register of works.
The project card indicates that sampling of rocks and minerals will be carried out, as well as drilling of two deep exploration and evaluation wells of various categories. The total investment value is 3.537 billion rubles. The source of financing is the funds of the subsurface user.
The work is scheduled to begin in the third quarter of 2024 and be completed in the second quarter of 2026.
Gazprom received the Lithium groundwater section on December 19, 2023. As RIA Novosti reported in the Ministry of Natural Resources, the license was “issued for the search and assessment of industrial groundwater (in order to further extract useful components from them).“ The ministry did not specify whether it was a question of searching for lithium or some other minerals.
Gazprom, Irkutsk Oil Company and the Ministry of Industry and Trade in February 2022 signed a roadmap for the implementation of a lithium extraction project at the Kovyktinskoye field in the Irkutsk region from reservoir brines. The head of Rosnedra, Yevgeny Petrov, said in an interview with RIA Novosti last June that lithium production at the Kovyktinskoye field is expected in the next 2-3 years if the appropriate industrial technology is successfully implemented.
