February 25, 2025
The Ministry of Natural Resources reported the presence of 28.5 million tons of rare earth metals in the bowels of Russia. Oleg Kazanov, head of the Federal Agency for Subsoil Use (Rosnedra), during the round table "Extraction and processing of rare earth metals: a problem and solutions" in the Federation Council, stated that Russia's supply of rare earth elements (REE) is very high - the proven reserves of this type of raw material, prepared for production, are estimated at 28.5 million tons. So, at the Lovozerskoye field in the Murmansk region, they amount to 7 million tons, at the Tomtorskoye field in Yakutia — 4 million tons. In total, 18 deposits of rare metals and REE have been explored in the country. At the same time, the annual demand of the Russian economy for these metals is about 2 thousand tons.
"Our proven reserves, prepared for production, are 28.5 million tons. This can be compared with about two thousand tons of the annual demand of the Russian Federation," he said.
Rare earth elements include samarium, yttrium, lutetium, dysprosium, holmium, erbium, praseodymium, thulium, lanthanum, cerium, ytterbium, terbium, neodymium, gadolinium, europium and promethium. The remaining 14 rare but not uncommon minerals are lithium, rubidium, caesium, beryllium, scandium, indium, gallium, germanium, zirconium, hafnium, vanadium, niobium, tantalum, and rhenium.
On the eve of February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting on the Russian Arctic that Moscow and Washington could cooperate in the development of Russian deposits. According to him, the Russian authorities would be happy to see American companies if they show interest in working together.
The very topic of REE appeared on the world agenda after the return to the post of US President Donald Trump. From the very first days, the Republican has been trying to resolve the issue of US dependence on China for the supply of rare earth metals, which are a critical element in modern electronics.
After trying to buy Greenland from Denmark in order to develop deposits on the island, Trump became interested in Ukraine's initiative for US access to the REE on its territory. However, the relevant agreement has not yet been signed, as the White House has decided to significantly expand it to include all minerals, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky refused to approve the document on such terms. Nevertheless, negotiations between the countries are continuing. Meanwhile, the European Union offered Kiev its own version of the deal on "critical materials."
EU Commissioner for Industrial Strategy Stephane Sejournay said that during a visit to Kiev with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, he offered the Ukrainian authorities an alternative agreement to the demands of the American side.
"21 out of 30 critical materials that Europe needs can be provided by Ukraine as part of a mutually beneficial partnership," he explained.
The EU representative stressed that, unlike the United States, in their version of the agreement on minerals, they would not require a deal that would not be beneficial to both sides.
It should be noted that, in accordance with part three of Article 2.1 of the Law of the Russian Federation "On Subsoil", deposits of rare earths of the yttrium group, tantalum, niobium, lithium, beryllium with reserves accounted for by the state balance of minerals belong to subsurface areas of federal significance (SAFS) and the participation of foreign companies in the exploration and development of such areas is significantly limited (the second part of Article 9 of the Law of the Russian Federation "On Subsoil"). Only legal entities established in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation may be users of subsurface resources at SAFS located onshore, unless the Government of the Russian Federation establishes additional restrictions on the admission to auctions for the right to use such sites of legal entities established in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation with the participation of foreign investors.
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