OREANDA-NEWS  On 07 October was announced, that North-Western Phosphorous Company (NWPC) obtained technical and environmental state approval of the design for the Oleniy Ruchey apatite-nepheline ore mine. On September 30, 2008, Central Expert Examination Authority (state-controlled institution of the federal level) approved the mine design, thus confirming its compliance with the statutory engineering requirements. State experts concluded that the findings of the engineering survey also complied with the statutory technical requirements.

NWPC’s management forwarded gratitude letters to all organisations which contributed to the design development, including general designer of the project – Giproruda institute (St. Petersburg); Mekhanobr Engineering (St. Petersburg), the Mining Institute of the Kolsky Scientific Centre of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Apatity), the Federal State Institution of the All-Russia Nature Protection Research Institute (Moscow), the Murmansk Geological Expedition (Apatity), Murmansk Trust of Engineering and Construction Surveys (Murmansk), Lengiprotrans (St. Petersburg), SZMA Company (St. Petersburg) and others for their titanic work that allowed achieving all the set goals in due time and with an excellent result. The letter says that “the performed large-scale work speaks of the designers’ high intellectual potential. Despite the fact that they have not developed such large projects for a long time, they managed not only to summon up their forces but also to involve creative thinking looking forward and taking into account the new mine operation for many decades ahead.”

Precisely three years ago, on October 4, 2005, NWPC officially declared its intention to build a mine at the Oleniy Ruchey apatite-nepheline ore deposit in the Murmansk region. Yury Evdokimov, the Murmansk region governor, attended the project presentation and supported the idea of establishing a new enterprise that would not only create new jobs but would also bring considerable investments and taxes to the budget.

A huge systematic work was done, and NWPC always managed to keep up to the multistage programme of the project implementation. At the first stage, the Company performed the feasibility study of apatite-nepheline ore mining and processing at the Oleniy Ruchey deposit, won the state tender and obtained a state subsoil license. At the second stage, NWPC secured the preliminary land allotment, built a road to the future mine, and carried out engineering, construction and environmental surveys at the site. This work was followed by a blast to take ore technical samples, tests of Oleniy Ruchey ore at the pilot plant equipment of the Mining Institute of the Kolsky Scientific Centre of the Russian Academy of Science, and production of the first lots of apatite-nepheline concentrate.

Besides, the Company conducted the survey of ground waters to support the mine operations. NWPC conducted public hearing of the project and presented its Declaration of Intent, which was approved by Murmansk regional inter-departmental commission on productive forces placement. Finally, the Company finalized the design of the mine and obtained its state approval. NWPC has entered into Agreement on Social and Economic Cooperation to support the Koashva settlement (13 km away from the deposit) for 2008 with the Kirovsk administration. Under the agreement the company granted RUB 2 million to repair the school and the nursery school buildings and is to add another three million grant by the end of the year to maintain municipal housing.

The locals are looking forward to the third stage – detailed design and construction of the mine. The new mine brings new expectations, new jobs, promotion prospects, revenues to the budget and solutions to social and economic issues. Mineral fertilisers producers who currently lack their own sources of phosphates supplies are also welcoming the new complex. Acron’s workers believe that own supplies of apatite concentrate to their production facilities guarantee uninterrupted operation and independence from market turmoil.

NWPC is ready to commence the complex construction and its financing. However, the construction is subject to the approval by the local authorities. Unfortunately, the Kirovsk administration coordinate their actions with the local mainstay JSC Apatit, which in practice results in impediments for NWPC progress and delays in obtaining approvals. For example, specifications of conjunction with engineering facilities of Apatit on the municipal motorway leased by the mainstay, have not been authorised for a long time. Apatit even brought a claim to cancel the permit granted to NWPC for use of the leased motorway section. NWPC believes that the ruling will be just and the inefficient treatment by Apatit will not affect the principal objective – the mine will be constructed even if NWPC will have to build its own bypass road.

Being a law abiding company, NWPC is sure of the project success. NWPC reckons on prudence and foresight of the authorities. Given the important role of a new mainstay to the area economy, its residents, employment improvement, the construction approval is expected to be obtained in the nearest future. On October 08, Acron President Ivan Antonov and NWPC leadership are holding a meeting with the Murmansk region governor Yury Evdokimov and the Kirovsk administration to negotiate further actions by NWPC to implement the project. The meeting is expected to see the signing of the Agreement on social and economic cooperation.