Karelia is launching industrial-scale mining for tuffite – a volcanic rock used in construction. The corresponding cooperation agreement was signed back in June 2025 at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. Head of the Republic, Artur Parfenchikov, signed it with OOO Gabozerskoe – a unit of the Vologda Quarrying Administration company. Mining will take place at Gorelyi Bor deposit in the Kondopoga District of Karelia. The mining license for this deposit will be valid until 2031.

- It’s a new site with no previous mining operations. Moreover, tuffites have never been extracted in Karelia before. Tuffite is not a traditional raw material, and no large-scale assessments have been done before. Rockwool used to be made of porphyrite from Havchozero deposit, also situated in the Kondopoga District, - remarked Chief Researcher of the Laboratory of Ore-forming Systems and Mineral Resources, Institute of Geology, Dr. Vladimir Shchiptsov.

Tuffite is a mixed, partially volcanic rock, with volcanic material (ash, lappili) accounting for 10 to 90% of the total volume, while the rest is regular magmatic, metamorphic, or sedimentary particles. The rock formed in this territory through volcanic activity during the Paleozoic. Due to being light-weight, quite strong, and heat-insulating, tuffite can be used for concrete aggregates, brick mixtures, tuff slabs, facing blocks, etc. Furthermore, tuffite strata in Lake Onego function as natural filters.

In 2025, scientists from the Karelian Research Centre conducted an analysis of the physical and mechanical properties of samples from the Gorelyi Bor deposit. The preliminary conclusion is that the local tuffite generally meets the requirements for construction materials. Specialists at the KarRC RAS remarked, however, that further research is needed to be certain.

Vitaly Shekov, Can.Sci., Head of the Stone Building Materials Laboratory at the Institute of Geology KarRC RAS, said that tuffite from this deposit is generally suitable for use in construction, including road construction. According to Vitaly Shekov, it will all depend on what exactly the future enterprise is going to produce.

The Ministry of Industry and Commerce of Karelia reminded that tuffite mining and tuffite-based production will be one more development direction for the Karelian mining industry. The company has already gone through state expert review for one of the land lots intended for the construction of utility lines. Operations at the deposit are scheduled to begin in May 2026, and the enterprise is expected to reach its full capacity in 2027. The total investment in the project will amount to at least RUR 900M, and about 100 new jobs will be created.

Photo: Republic of Karelia Ministry of Industry and Commerce