Russia’s largest secondary lead producer suspends operations

The largest producer of secondary lead in Russia, Fregat, has been forced to suspend its work, while several other plants in the industry are preparing to halt operations or undergo repairs.

That’s according to Kommersant, Ukrinform reports.

The reason for the move, as confirmed by the company, is the lack of a lead export license. Since mid-May, lead producers must obtain unique licenses, while the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade has not issued any so far.

Domestic demand for lead is extremely low. Fregat annually produces up to 40,000 tonnes of lead and alloys, which is about a quarter of the total production in Russia. For five months of 2022, according to Kommersant, the plant produced about 17,500 tonnes of these products.

So far, the plant, which employs almost 230 staff, has suspended its work for a month.

According to the publication’s sources, the Ministry of Industry and Trade offered Russian factories to search for new partners among friendly nations, but there is no point in starting such negotiations without an export license.

At the same time, according to experts, the authorities do not issue export licenses for fear of a shortage of lead for the defense industry. It is actively used in military engineering and in firearm round production.

According to the Russian Institute for Problems of Natural Monopolies, a total of 127,000 tons of raw lead was exported from Russia in 2021. Almost half of this volume was purchased by the EU and Switzerland. Starting July 10, the EU will stop buying Russian lead as part of the fifth package of sanctions.

On February 24, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Democratic nations have since imposed a number of sanctions on the aggressor power.