Russian ministry registers rare earth metals cluster in Tomsk Region with planned investment of 6.1 bln rubles
TOMSK. July 3 (Interfax) - Russia's Industry and Trade Ministry has registered a second industrial cluster in Tomsk Region, Nonferrous and Rare Earth Metals, investment in which is expected to total 6.1 billion rubles, the regional administration's press service reported on Thursday.
The cluster-forming company is JSC Tugansky Mining and Processing Plant Ilmenite (TGOK), a division of Rosatom Nedra that produces glass-making and quartz sand, quartz powder and ilmenite concentrate, the service said.
The cluster also includes Sibirsky Titan LLC, a joint venture between Siberian Chemical Combine and businessman Andrei Severilov; Interglass LLC, a glass plant outside Tomsk; Tomsk precast reinforced concrete products plant ZKPD TDSK LLC; and Engra LLC.
"The total amount of expenditures on the implementation of the industrial cluster's projects will amount to 6.1 billion rubles. The timeframe for the implementation of the projects is 2025-2031," the press release said.
It is anticipated that TGOK will supply quartz glass-making sand to cluster companies, Interglass will produce glassware, and Engra and ZKPD TDSK will produce, respectively, silica filler for automobile tires and walkway slabs. Sibirsky Titan, meanwhile, will build a titanium dioxide plant.
Sibirsky Titan and Engra do not currently have production facilities in Tomsk Region. Sibirsky Titan has postponed the start of construction of a plant several times already, first due to financial issues and later because of a change in location. According to the latest information, construction and installation work is expected to begin this year and be completed in two years, meaning 2027.
Engra considered building a plant near TGOK, where there is already infrastructure in place, in 2023-2026 and planned to invest at least 350 million rubles in production. But construction has yet to begin.
The Industry Ministry registered the first industrial cluster in Tomsk Region, for logging, wood processing and wood chemistry, in February.
This cluster includes Monolit-Stroy, which owns the Latat medium-density fiberboard (MDF) and oriented strand board (OSB) plants in Tomsk; Alyans; Tekhnostroy; Tomskiye Mebelnye Fasady; and individual entrepreneur S.P. Gagalinsky, which will set up production of various products. There are also plans to build a plant to produce urea formaldehyde concentrate with capacity to make 60,000 tonnes of finished product annually.
These projects, which are expected to be delivered in 2025-2028, will cost an estimated 8 billion rubles.
