Exploration precedes a possible phosphate project
Uralchem plans geological exploration for fertilizer raw materials in the Murmansk Region of Russia. Governor Andrei Chibis announced the plan at a regional government meeting on June 8, 2026. He made construction of a mining and processing plant conditional on exploration confirming the information currently available to the authorities.
The regional government identified the possible manufacturing project as a phosphate-fertilizer plant. Murmansk Region’s existing phosphate-mining participants include PhosAgro, EuroChem and Acron. Chibis also chairs the State Council Commission on the Northern Sea Route and the Arctic.
The earlier regional cooperation agreement
Uralchem and the Murmansk Region government signed their cooperation agreement on June 4, 2026, at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. Chibis and Uralchem Chief Executive Officer Dmitry Konyaev signed the document at the company’s stand. The project covers the Tulomsky subsoil area, called the Tuloma subsurface area in the investment portal’s English account. The preliminary investment estimate was approximately 20 billion rubles.
The agreement envisages a quarry and processing plant. Uralchem’s willingness to invest takes account of the project’s investment attractiveness. The region indicated support measures including land allocation and joint socioeconomic partnerships. The document also addresses:
- New employment opportunities for regional residents.
- Additional tax revenues for the regional budget.
- Measures within the Russian Arctic development strategy through 2035.
Existing phosphate-manufacturing operations
Uralchem’s VMU branch in Voskresensk already manufactures phosphate-related products. VMU’s 2025 mineral-fertilizer production total exceeded 850,000 tonnes and included 204,800 tonnes of wet-process phosphoric acid, according to Uralchem’s production update published on February 11, 2026. VMU increased monoammonium phosphate and monopotassium phosphate production. Together with Uralchem Trading House, it also increased production and sales of the Solar and Aquadrop water-soluble fertilizer ranges.
The branch completed its scheduled maintenance shutdown during 2025. Preventive and modernization work covered the phosphoric-acid and sulfuric-acid workshops, ammophos workshops No. 1 and No. 2, and the complex-fertilizer department. Cleaning, equipment replacement and changes to transport and storage systems were intended to support uninterrupted operations in 2026. These figures and works concern the existing Voskresensk site, separately from the proposed raw-material project in the Murmansk Region.
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