Udokan Copper has signed a EUR 4,5 mln agreement on social and economic cooperation with the Government of Trans-Baikal Territory of Russia and the Administration of Kalar Municipal District, where the Udocan copper deposit is located.
According to the agreement the company will be involved in designing social infrastructure facilities and landscaping projects, building sports pitches and playgrounds in Kalar District, as well as social support for remote settlements and indigenous peoples of the North and Far East that live in the District.
The company will also support inclusive, educational, cultural, artistic, and sports events in Chita - the capital of Trans-Baikal Territory.
“Udokan is the largest anchor investment project in Trans-Baikal Territory and the Russian Far East,” said Trans-Baikal Territory Governor Alexander Osipov, “The first stage of the project shall provide over 20,000 new jobs, taking into account related industries. The construction and operation of the mining and metallurgical plant creates a demand for modern and comfortable living conditions, and they will be provided for both the company's employees and locals. The agreement provides for the design and construction of several social facilities that will reshape the territories of the Kalar Municipal District and Chita.”
“Since 2010, Udokan Copper has taken a set of measures to support healthcare and education, sports and culture, spatial development, combat wildfires and flood fallout in Trans-Baikal Territory. By the end of 2021 the company’s shareholders’ overall input into the region’s social sphere will amount to RUB 1.5 bln (EUR 17 mln),” said Valery Kazikaev, Udokan Copper Board Chairman. He stressed that the company’s efforts are aimed primarily at creating comfortable living conditions in Kalar District; however, solid investment is allocated to support initiatives and projects in Trans-Baikal Territory as a whole and in Chita.
Kazikaev also mentioned, that in 2020 the company allocated more than EUR 3,6 mln to fight the spread of coronavirus infection in Trans-Baikal Territory and the Russian Far East.
The Agreement was signed by Trans-Baikal Territory Governor Alexander Osipov and Udokan Copper Board Chairman Valery Kazikaev on June 3, 2021, at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. Sergei Klimovich, the head of Kalar Municipal District, signed the document earlier.
About company: Udokan copper (formerly Baikal Mining Company) was established to develop the Udokan copper deposit project. The company is part of the USM Group founded by Alisher Usmanov. Udokan, with its resources of more than 26 mln tons of copper, is Russia’s largest and the world’s third untapped deposit.
The reserves of the deposit, according to the JORC Code, are estimated at 26.7 mln tons of copper, with an average copper grade of 1.06%. The deposit is located in Kalar District of Trans-Baikal Territory, 30 km off the New Chara station of the Baikal-Amur mainline. Upon the project's completion, a mining and metallurgical plant will be commissioned to manufacture cathode copper and sulfide concentrate; the production output is projected at 125,000 tons per year.
Udokan mining and metallurgical plant coming on stream shall provide up to 2,500 new jobs and up to 20,000 additional jobs in related industries. The Udokan plant is to contribute up to 10% to the gross regional product of Trans-Baikal Territory.
