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A Russian sanctioned by the U.S. wants to exploit lithium in Chile
Tuesday, June 6, 2023Vladimir Potanin is one of the main Russian oligarchs with connections in multiple industries and seeks to participate in the lithium business in Chile.
Last May 12, two representatives of the Russian mining company Norilskiy Nickel, also known as Nornickel, arrived at the offices of Chile's Undersecretary of Mining, Willy Kracht. They were Boris Ershler and Petr Yamashkin.According to Pulso, Yamashkin is the representative of the powerful mining company for South American countries. The Russian company's lobbyists inquired about the requirements to be met by companies interested in participating in the Chilean lithium business. Dozens of firms are waiting to know the definitions for a group of salt flats -a little more than 40- whose productive potential has not yet been duly explored. A decision that, according to the authorities, will take time.In spite of this, Nornickel executives requested a meeting with Kracht through the Lobby Law to "express the interest of this mining company in developing a lithium project in Chile in the form of a public-private partnership".
The company's interest reflects its plans to expand into a business in which it is just starting out. In February this year, its joint venture with the mining division of Rosatom, Russia's state nuclear energy corporation, known as Polar Lithium, obtained the exclusive right to explore Kolmozerskoye, the largest lithium deposit in Russia. Located in the city of Murmansk, near the border with Norway and Finland, it seeks to produce 45,000 tons per year of lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide by 2030.So far, its business is focused on the production of high-grade palladium and nickel, metals in which the company holds world leadership. In 2022 alone, it produced 219,000 tons of nickel, 13% more than the previous year. In palladium, it reached 2,790 thousand ounces, increasing its 2021 level by 7%. In copper, its production reached 433 thousand tons, up 6% compared to the previous year.The tycoon behind the firmNornickel is a giant that was founded in 1935 by the Soviet Union's Council of People's Commissars, but was privatized in 1994 under the current Russian Federation. The company is chaired by Vladimir Potanin, its largest shareholder and one of Russia's leading oligarchs with connections in multiple industries, who began his career working in the Ministry of Foreign Trade of the former USSR.
Founder of the Interros holding company, Potatin's influence extends into almost all sectors of the Russian economy and his net worth amounts to more than US$23 billion, according to Forbes, which ranks him 62nd in the ranking of the world's largest personal fortunes."We should call ourselves Argenchina," said Sergio Massa.Potatin's power and influence reaches such a level that, in March 2022, when the war in Ukraine was generating havoc in the Russian economy and a real flight of international companies, he urged Vladimir Putin's government to act with caution because of the Kremlin's plans to expropriate assets to The United States imposed sanctions against Potatin in December 2022, after listing it on a Treasury Department list, along with its commercial bank Rosbank, which was acquired by Interros early last year.
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Original:
https://www.memo.com.ar/economia/un-ruso-sancionado-por-eeuu-quiere-explotar-litio-en-chile/Un ruso sancionado por EEUU quiere explotar litio en ChileMartes, 6 de junio de 2023Vladimir Potanin es uno de los principales oligarcas rusos con conexiones en múltiples industrias y busca participar del negocio del litio en Chile.
