Russian Copper, a joint venture between Russian Railways railroad operator, the Urals Mining and Metallurgical Company (UGMK) and Vnesheconombank, has submitted its bid to take part in a tender for the rights
to develop the giant Udokan copper deposit, Russian Railways said Wednesday.

     If the JV wins the tender, the total investments into the Udokan project will amount $1.9 billion during 17 years, the company said.

      Russian Copper was set up in April especially to take part in the Udokan tender. UGMK holds a 49% in the JV, with Russian Railways and Vnesheconombank holding a 25.5% stake each.

     The project will allow Russian Railways to expand the loading of its Baikal-Amur rail road across East Siberia, as it would add over 1.5 million mt/year of concentrate and copper to the company's deliveries by rail, in
addition to construction and other cargoes, the company said.

     Last week, Russian metals giant Norlisk Nickel was the first to submit its bid for Udokan.

     "If the company wins the tender, we do not rule out a possibility to attract co-investors and partners for the joint development of the deposit," Norilsk Nickel general director Denis Morozov said in a statement. Previously
it was reported that Norislk Nickel would team up with state corporation Rostekhnologii and Alisher Usmanov's MetalloInvest Holding.

     Other possible bidders are Basic Element, the holding company of Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska and Onexim Group, controlled by Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov.

    Udokan is considered to be the biggest deposit of copper in Russia, with commercial reserves estimated at 13.4 million mt, and falls under the category of Russia's "strategic" reserves, limited for foreign control. Only an entity with Russian capital interest over 50% can receive the right to develop a strategic field, under a recently adopted law on foreign investments in Russia.

     Udokan is located in the East Siberian Chita region and expected to produce up to 187,000 mt/year of copper, or 15% of Russia's total annual copper output.