Russia’s pool of raw material resources, so far as rare earth minerals are concerned, is capable of covering export demand of any volume, said Alexander Kozlov, the country’s Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, speaking at a session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, titled “Responsibility of global leaders in terms of reserves and production of minerals for sustainable development of global economy.” The discussion was also attended by representatives of African and Middle Eastern countries—government ministers in charge of subsoil use policy. The session was moderated by Sergey Brilev, President of the Global Energy Association.
“Our reserves amount to 28.5 million tons,” Kozlov noted. “In terms of their volume, Russia ranks fourth in the world. And we are able to satisfy any level of demand, both domestically and abroad. In addition, we are actively developing the entire processing chain: Technologies have been created for obtaining separate oxides of rare earth elements, industrial complexes are being built for the production of rare earth metals, including magnetic ones, such as praseodymium, neodymium and dysprosium,” he added.
Given a growing demand for metals used in battery production, the minister also informed the audience about development of new lithium deposits in the country and the use of alternative sources of lithium production. He provided a few details about those projects. “We have 17 world-class lithium deposits, and geological exploration work is being completed on the largest of them, with pilot industrial development unrolling as we speak,” he said. “Within the next few years, we plan to launch several production lines making lithium-ion batteries based on Russian patents. Work has also begun on extracting lithium from man-made formations, including mine dumps, spent quarries and hydromineral raw materials. Gazprom and Irkutsk Oil Company are conducting a pilot project on extracting lithium from formation waters of oil fields,” he stated.
Moreover, according to the minister, about 160,000 tons of nickel and 5,000 tons of cobalt are mined annually from ores in Russian deposits, and in 2026, production of cathode materials, which are in demand today in the manufacturing of lithium-ion batteries, will be launched in Russia.
Kozlov also mentioned that Russia remains one of the few countries on the planet that has a closed cycle of uranium processing, from ore mining to nuclear fuel production. “We process about 10,000 tons of uranium annually, accounting for 35% of the world’s enriched uranium production and for one-third of the global market share. Across the board, each stage of the value chain is built on technologies that are ahead of the world average level. And here, we are open to cooperation with emerging economies,” the minister emphasized, pointing out that nuclear energy, according to experts, is considered the most effective way to reduce carbon emissions.
