Russia has reserves of rare metals, such as niobium and tantalum, in an amount sufficient for the needs of the economy for a period of 100 to 400 years. This was stated by the head of Rosnedra Oleg Kazanov at the Nevsky International Environmental Congress.
According to Kazanov, the calculations were carried out taking into account annual domestic consumption. He noted that there are no expected shortages in these types of raw materials. The main task, according to him, remains the selection of cost-effective development scenarios and the introduction of processing technologies.
At the same time, as the head of Rosnedra clarified, the reserves of a number of other types of raw materials, including manganese, chromium and uranium, are estimated as insufficient. These resources are classified as highly liquid and scarce.
Kazanov said that active geological exploration is underway for such types of raw materials, including the merging of stages and the attraction of state funding. He added that the second stage of the federal project "Geology: Revival of a Legend" includes 38 solid mineral exploration sites, 32 of which are for industrial metals, including 23 for scarce items.
Why are rare earth metals so important?
Russia has one of the world's largest reserves of rare earth metals — about 12 million tons of oxides, including strategically important elements such as niobium, tantalum and scandium. The largest deposits are located in the Murmansk region, Yakutia and the Krasnoyarsk Territory. These resources are key to the defense industry, energy, electronics manufacturing and the implementation of technological sovereignty.
In the context of global competition and sanctions pressure, rare earth metals are becoming an instrument of geopolitical influence. However, the development of the industry is constrained by technological backwardness, the lack of a complete processing cycle and environmental risks. To solve these problems, the state is strengthening geological exploration and investing in the creation of processing facilities as part of the national project "Geology: Revival of a Legend".
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