PhosAgro to invest 60 bln rubles in resource base development in Khibiny by 2028

MURMANSK. April 1 (Interfax) - JSC Apatit (part of PhosAgro Group ) plans to invest 60 billion rubles in developing the resource base of its Kirovsky branch in the Murmansk region by 2028, according to a draft resolution of the Murmansk regional authorities.

The document was published on the Open Electronic Region portal.

The draft resolution proposes concluding a special investment contract (SIC) between the regional authorities and JSC Apatit which will be valid until December 31, 2033 and which will grant the resource base development project strategic investment status.

According to the project, Apatit's capital investments in the resource base development project should amount to "no less than 60 billion rubles excluding VAT during 2025-2027". During the same period, the company commits to ensuring tax revenues of at least 27 billion rubles through its subsidiaries and affiliates. The SIC will also provide for creating new jobs and maintaining existing ones.

The strategic investment project status guarantees Apatit state support in the form of a corporate profit tax deduction of 3 billion rubles for 2025-2027.

According to PhosAgro's website, the company is currently implementing several investment projects at Apatit's Kirovsky branch. These include a water drainage project for the Loparskaya river, which upon completion in 2028 will enable the Kirovsky mine to access over 100 million tonnes of apatite-nepheline ore. Other ongoing projects involve increasing production volumes at the Vostochny mine pits and developing sub-pit reserves at the Central mine while constructing the new underground Plato Rasvumchorr mine there.

Previously, at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in 2024, the Murmansk regional authorities and PhosAgro signed an agreement to implement the Development of the Mineral Resource Base of JSC Apatit investment project. Investments through 2033 are planned at no less than 160 billion rubles.

The Kirovsky branch of Apatit specializes in mining and processing apatite-nepheline ores in the Khibiny Mountains of the Murmansk region. The enterprise is Europe's largest producer of phosphate raw materials for mineral fertilizers. It is also Russia's sole producer of nepheline concentrate.

The branch operates six deposits - Kukisvumchorrskoye, Yuksporskoye, Apatitovy Tsirk, Plato Rasvumchorr, Koashvinskoye and Nyorkpakhkskoye.