KOMI REPUBLIC

Complex development of the Yaregskoye oil-titanium deposit

The Yaregskoye deposit of oil-titanium ores is located near Ukhta. The deposit represents an oil reservoir with
a thick (up to 25 m) bed of ore-bearing sandstone containing oil located under it. A titanium dioxide content
of ore is 11% on the average. This is much higher than commercial contents of ore in most deposits. Titanium
reserves of the deposit that account for over 40% of total titanium reserves of Russia are approved by the State
Reserves Commission and allow long-term planning of ore mining and processing. Development of the deposit
may solve the problem of titanium raw materials for production of metallic titanium and other products thereof
and pigment titanium dioxide.
Oil of the Yaregskoye deposit is unique: it is particularly heavy, high-viscosity, high-gumming and is
an excellent raw material for production of road asphalts; various (transformer, refrigerating, white medicinal)
oils the demand for which is very great in Russia; furnace and black oils; naphthaplast; polymerplast, and other
products.
Oil from the Yaregskoye deposit has been mined since the 40th. Recoverable reserves are 59 million t. Presently,
up to 500,000 t a year of oil are mined from the deposit through four oil-shafts.
OAO (open joint-stock company) Yaregskaya Neftetitanovaya Kompaniya (Oil-titanium Company) holds
a license for the development of the deposit.
Investments in the complex development of the Yaregskoye oil-titanium deposit were substantiated by OAO All-
Russian Aluminium-Magnesium Institute in 2000. The project supported by the RF Government is included
in the Federal Special Program of the Social and Economic Development of the Komi Republic in&1998-2005.
Planned production capacities of the enterprise are: mining of 1.2 million t a year of ore; production of 220,000 t
a year of titanium concentrate and co-production of 70,000 t a year of oil, and production of 1.2 million t a year
of oil.
In future, it is planned to subject titanium concentrate to metallurgical treatment for production of titanium slag,
titanium-silicon alloy 30% of which is expected to be produced as titanium allow flux-cored wire and pigment
titanium dioxide. Estimated capacity of titanium ore production will be achieved by two stages: ore output
of 600,000 t a year due to the reconstruction of the current mine at the 1st stage and 600,000 t a year due
to building of a new mine at the 2nd one.
Required investments are: $161.1 million in the ore-titanium complex; $156.7 million in a pigment plant;
$67.6 million in oil production using new technologies; and $181.4 million in oil refining. Period of recoupment
is 9 years.
The forms of investors’ participation are: leasing, on a compensatory basis through delivery of finished
commodity.