Russian company Alisher Usmanov is in talks with banks to raise $1.25 billion in early 2019 to build a large mining and metallurgical plant in Russia’s largest undeveloped copper deposit.

Since the Western sanctions imposed four years ago, large-scale green projects in Russia’s energy and mining sectors have slowed down because companies have difficulty obtaining financing from overseas. But with the help of local financing, some large projects are now recovering. Usmanov’s Baikal Mining Company, the operator of the Udokan copper deposit, is betting that global copper demand is strong. Many people have expectations for the demand for copper in the electric vehicle industry.

Valery Kazikayev, chairman of the board of Baikal Mining Company, said that some of Russia’s largest banks have expressed interest in the company’s projects, and he said that negotiations with one of the banks have progressed particularly well. Udokan’s total copper reserves exceed 26.7 million tons and it is one of the largest undeveloped copper mines in the world. However, since its discovery in 1949, the mine has been a virgin land because of the lack of technology that is suitable for the unique ore that is difficult to mine.

Before the financial crisis broke out in 2008, Usmanov spent $500 million to acquire the right to develop the Udokan mine from the Russian government. The Baikal Mining Company spent ten years solving the technical challenges of the mine. It also cost $330 million to create a new geological model of the deposit.

This month, Baikal Mining Company is preparing for the construction site, which will combine flotation and hydrometallurgical processes. The Baikal Mining Company will need $1.35 billion to build a plant that will mine 12 million tons of ore a year and produce 130,000 tons of copper.

The company plans to invest $100 million in the project and will target primarily China and other Asian markets. The remaining funds were raised through financing $1.25 billion. The processing plant has an annual ore capacity of 12 million tons and an internal rate of return of at least 21%. Udokan has the potential to expand to 48 million tons and may accelerate its expansion under favorable copper market conditions.

According to Kazikayev, copper is one of the most promising metals, so the schedule for processing the ore capacity of 24 million tons, 36 million tons or 48 million tons per year may be tight.

Two of the world’s four largest mining giants have expressed interest in the project, and three Chinese companies have expressed interest. Baikal Mining Company continues to liaise with it, but the company plans to advance the project on its own.