Priority mineral resources and “critical” materials of Russia for production of lithium-ion batteries

The problem of creating and supporting the production of lithium-ion batteries (LIA) in Russia includes an analysis of the possibilities of using domestic natural and “critical” materials. As Russia has the largest and most accessible sources of lithium raw materials, explored by the USSR geologists in the middle of the last century, we recommend for the priority industrial development the large deposits of rare-metal granite pegmatites, localized within two Precambrian crystalline shields of European Russia - in the Far North (the Kola Polar Region) and in the South (Novorossiya). The article provides a comparative assessment of the results of geological exploration (GE) and studies of these deposits, and recommendations for their additional study from a modern perspective, together with conditions and specifics of industrial development. Among the “critical” materials, the main attention is paid to lithium salts and high-quality graphite, while other metal ore products (Ni, Cu, Co, Al, Fe, etc.) are produced in our country in the required quantities, and in the future (with the exception of manganese) do not appear to be in short supply. For the first time, it is recommended to synchronize the additional study and industrial development of domestic lithium raw materials in the Far North and South, with surveys and prospective assessment of graphite raw materials in the same regions, the creation of mining, chemical and metallurgical production of a full technological cycle, and the program-targeted organization of a complex of scientific and production works as a strategic state order.