On 10 August 2016, CJSC Verkhnekamsk Potash Company (VPC), a member of Acron Group, celebrated its 10th anniversary. As part of Acron Group's investment strategy, VPC is developing a potash deposit in Berezniki, Perm Krai. The project's goal is to build a new mine with the capacity of 2 mn tpa of potassium chloride (7.45 mn tpa of ore) with the investments in the project totalling approximately USD 2.7 billion, including licence cost. VPC obtained the licence to develop the Talitsky area of the Verkhnekamsk potassium-magnesium salt deposit in Perm Krai in 2008, and to date has completed the following steps: - Exploration programme, which confirmed potassium salt reserves sufficient for roughly 40 years of operation - Levelling and grading at the production site - Construction of the camp for builders and administration building - Commissioning of the power substation to provide the mine site with electricity during construction - Design of the underground mine and key surface facilities - The majority of work to prepare for freezing and shaft sinking, including construction of auxiliary buildings and structures, drilling of freezing holes, assembly of freezing equipment and brine pipes, and assembly of headframe metalwork for skip and cage shafts - Approval by the State Expert Review Board of design documentation for eleven facilities of the Talitsky mine. Another major project “Construction of the Talitsky mine surface facilities” has been submitted for state expert review and is pending approval. The surface facilities include processing plant, warehouses, administrative facilities, boiler unit and railway station. Earlier this year, the Governor of Perm Krai assigned a priority status to the Talitsky mine investment project.