12.09.2023
The Ministry of the Russian Federation for the Development of the Russian Far East and the Arctic (Minvostokrazvitiya), Government of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom and Seligdar PJSC entered into an intent agreement for cooperation in projects of the Kyuchus cluster of tin, gold and other mineral deposits. A small nuclear power plant (SNPP) with a domestically produced RITM-200N reactor located the Ust-Kuyga settlement will become an energy centre for the development of promising deposits in the Arctic part of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia).
The document was signed by the Deputy Minister of the Russian Federation for the Development of the Far East and the Arctic Anatoliy Bobrakov, Head of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) Aysen Nikolaev, Director General of the State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom Alexey Likhachev and CEO of Seligdar PJSC Sergey Tatarinov. The official ceremony took place at the 8th Eastern Economic Forum.
The parties intend to find an optimal solution for establishing a preferential regime with governmental support to implement the Kyuchus cluster projects aimed at new enterprises creation and accelerated economic development of remote areas.
‘Development of the Kyuchus deposit is a large-scale and demanding challenge that will open a new page in the development of the regional industry. The implementation of this large project will allow creating new jobs, contribute to the infrastructural development and give a powerful boost to development of the Verkhoyanskiy and Ust-Yanskiy districts of Yakutia. Despite the mineral wealth, gold mining in these areas is an extremely complicated process demanding implementation of state-of-the-art technologies and newest energy solution. Seligdar will make every effort and apply decades-long expertise and knowledge to efficient develop the Kyuchus deposit’, noted CEO of Seligdar PJSC Sergey Tatarinov.
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The project on construction of small nuclear power plants designed in Russia is being implemented on the base of the latest Russian nuclear reactor RITM-200H, which is the result of the years-long experience in operating of small reactors on ships of the Russian nuclear-powered icebreaker fleet. To date, eight RITM-200 reactors have been produced and installed on four icebreakers. Implementation of the SNPP project will contribute to energy self-sufficiency and socio-economic development of the Arctic territories of Yakutia. The fuel supply for the SNPP is required once every five years that ensures stable energy supply to critical industrial enterprises and social facilities. The SNPP will become a heart of one of largest Russian mineral resource centres that will in the long run provide energy to the industrial enterprises. It involves development of the Kyuchus, Deputatskoye, Tirekhtyakh deposits, construction of transportation and engineering infrastructure, social facilities in the Ust-Yanskiy and Verkhoyanskiy districts, construction of the power transmission line of 110 (220) kW ‘Ust-Kuyga-Tirekhtyakh-Deputatskiy’. The SNPP project will entail positive transformation in the Ust-Kuyga settlement of the Ust-Yanskiy district that will create a developed area comfortable for work and life. More than 1,000 new jobs will be created during the construction of the SNPP, and about 600 jobs – after the plant has been put into operation. In April 2023, a siting license for the Yakutia SNPP was obtained, and on August 29, 2023, an opening ceremony of the first facility of the nuclear plant's off-site infrastructure – a temporary camp for construction workers in the Ust-Kuyga settlement – took place.
The President and the Government of the Russian Federation are expanding the range of measures to support Russian industry. Implementation of major projects, including those in the energy sector, is speeding up. The Russian fuel and energy complex continues planned capacity upgrades. This work is being done taking into account current trends in digitalisation and substitution of imported equipment. Rosatom and its entities take an active part in this work.