Russian Pinkelyavr iron ore deposit in Arctic put up for auction again

MURMANSK. Oct 8 (Interfax) - The Department for Subsoil Use in the Northwestern Federal District, on the Continental Shelf and in the Global Ocean (Sevzapnedra) will hold an auction for the right to use the Pinkelyavr subsoil plot with iron ore reserves in the Murmansk region for the second time, according to materials from the Torgi state information system.

The first auction, announced in August, was declared invalid due to the absence of bids.

The starting price of the lot has been reduced from 357.22 million rubles to 327.53 million rubles, or by 8.3%. The auction step is 32.73 million rubles, or 10% of the starting price.

Bids are accepted from October 8 to November 7. The auction is scheduled for November 25.

The area of the subsoil plot is 8.5 square kilometers. It is located in the Lovozersky district of the Murmansk region. Balance reserves of iron ore amount to 22.58 million tonnes for category C1 and 54.54 million tonnes for category C2. Off-balance reserves for category C1 are 1.32 million tonnes and 13.67 million tonnes for category C2. Forecast resources of category P1 are 21 million tonnes. The right to use the plot is granted for 25 years.

As reported in May by the press service of JSC Rosgeologia, the Pinkelyavr ores are easily enrichable, and a concentrate with an iron content of around 70% suitable for the production of high-quality steels can be obtained from them. The mineralization outcrops at the surface, so the deposit can be developed by open-pit mining with a production capacity of 4.4 million tonnes of ore mass per year, Rosgeologia said.

According to Interfax's industry sources, Severstal is studying the possibility of developing the Pinkelyavr iron ore deposit. The company declined to comment.