Russia’s Acron Group reported that its Verkhnekamsk Potash Co. (VPC) subsidiary has completed the construction of the skip and cage shafts at the Talitsky potash mine project in Russia’s Perm region.
The skip shaft depth is 414 meters and the cage shaft depth is 363 meters, the group said in a March 7 press release. Russia’s FSUE Construction Department No. 30 is the main contractor for the shaft work.
With this stage completed, VPC CEO Alexander Pupov said the company can now accelerate mine construction and carry out both underground and surface works. When completed, the project will have an initial capacity of 2 million mt/y, with the potential for further expansion to 2.6 million mt/y.
As of February 2022, Acron group was targeting first production at Talitsky in 2025. However, the group had not responded to Green Markets inquiries as to whether development was still on track for this start-up target.
Acron Group owns a 50% plus one share in VPC, with Russian banks Sberbank Investments, Otkritie Bank, and VTB Group holding the remaining 29.9% stakeholdings.