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LONDON, Jan 5 (Reuters) - A fire at the operations of Russian miner Udokan Copper on Dec. 30 damaged part of the plant in Russia's far east but left copper concentrate production unaffected, the company told Reuters, adding that it was still assessing the damage.
Udokan Copper declined to comment on whether the damage would delay the start of copper cathode production at the plant.
A delay to copper cathode production would add to the growing list of supply disruptions in the copper industry including at First Quantum's Cobre mine in Panama and Anglo American lowering its production guidance.
Udokan planned to launch the first stage of the plant in the second quarter of 2024 and produce up to 135,000 tons of copper in the form of cathode or metal in concentrate a year, according to its Dec. 20 statement. From 2026, the annual capacity was expected to rise to 150,000 tons.
Russian metals producers have been hit by a wave of fires in recent months including at an aluminium smelter and a zinc mine.
Russia's war with Ukraine and sanctions imposed on Moscow by the United States have complicated the process of importing mining and processing equipment to replace damaged machinery.
Udokan, which has been also hit by Washington's sanctions, was Russia's largest undeveloped copper deposit until it started copper concentrate production in September.
The sanctions effectively banned Udokan Copper from U.S. dollar transactions and curbed marketing of its copper to potential Western customers, cementing its dependence on proximity to top metals consumer China. (Reporting by Julian Luk and Polina Devitt; editing by Tomasz Janowski and Louise Heavens)
