According to representatives of the Federal Subsoil Use Agency RF, Ural Mining and Metallurgical Company will compete with «Norilsk Nickel» in the fight for the right of resource extraction on Elkinskom Elanskaya and nickel mines.

«The tender will take place next year, but the commercial exploitation of mineral resources in these fields will begin no earlier than 8 years» — commented the deputy head of Russia Vladimir Bavlov FAN.

According to market analysts, the chances of the parties are not equal to: UMMC mostly just interested in mining resources, and Norilsk Nickel announced a willingness to create in the Voronezh region a range of businesses — from mining — to the production of nickel. This means that Norilsk Nickel's offer may seem attractive Rosnedra Bole.

Elkinskoe Elanskaya and nickel deposits have been explored further in the 70−80s of the last century with Podkolodnovskim, Nizhnemamonskim and Jubilee mines. According to experts of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the saturation of nickel and copper ores in these deposits is about 0.2−0.7% — 4−5%. And raw stock for production of non-ferrous metals in the underground storage room enough for at least 30 years of development (even in intensive production mode).

The first attempt to organize the sale of Russian FAN to develop nickel deposits of these rights was made in 2008. However, due to the instability of the economy, the tender was postponed to a later period.