Irkutsk Oil to launch production of lithium carbonate at Yaraktinskoye field in early 2024

MOSCOW. July 5 (Interfax) - Irkutsk Oil Company (INK) plans to put a pilot plant to produce lithium carbonate into operation at the Yaraktinskoye field at the beginning of 2024, the group said in its annual report.

"Specialists are now preparing equipment and the construction site for it, as well as conducting research and development work to optimize production processes," the company said.

INK said that last year it launched a pilot automated complex to extract lithium chloride eluate from reservoir water.

INK Capital chairman Nikolai Buinov said last September that the company was preparing to launch a pilot plant to extract lithium. "In 2023-2024 we will begin commercial production of lithium carbonate and hydroxide," he said.

INK launched trial operation of a helium plant at the Yaraktinskoye field in June as part of a gas project that the group has been implementing in the northern part of Irkutsk Region since 2014.

INK, one of Russia's largest independent hydrocarbon producers, is exploring and developing 53 resource blocks in Irkutsk Region, Krasnoyarsk Territory and Yakutia.