Assessment of Economic and Environmental Conditions for Effective Development of Silicate Nickel Ores from Deposits in the Middle Urals

Abstract

. Development of nickel deposits in the Ural will be economically beneficial for both Russia and the region. As an important strategic raw material, nickel is used in the nuclear, military, pharmaceutical, petrochemical industries, as well as in the production of portable electronic devices, electric vehicles, etc. Given the current global political situation, Russia has to develop the resource base focusing on domestic deposits, especially those located in industrially developed regions. In order to assess business performance, the paper analyses technical and economic indicators, such as expected income, investment attractiveness, prospects for accelerating development. As a result, the study presents an economic justification for the development of nickel deposits in the Middle Urals and an assessment of the technical and economic feasibility of mining relatively low-grade silicate nickel ores. The development of these deposits implies an increase in expenditures on subsoil management and environmental protection and an improvement of social conditions for the population (increased employment, regular environmental and medical-biological expertise, etc.). The article proposes measures for the rational integrated use of extracted raw materials in the considered deposits, particularly, production of building materials from mineral waste considering environmental and social factors. Economic calculations performed for the Kungur deposit (annual ore production capacity of 396 thousand tonnes), the Parushinsky deposit (273 thousand tonnes) and the Serov deposit (600 thousand tonnes) showed a high profitability of mining operations, including the processing of mineral waste.