Russia's dependence on imports of pure rare earth metals (REM) reaches 90% in certain areas, despite the country holding the world's second-largest reserves, Ksenia Shoigu, CEO of the Mendeleev Valley Foundation, told TASS at Innoprom.
The overall dependency level is about 75%. The foundation has already built 12 full-cycle technological chains – from ore mining to final products, and nine agreements have been signed with 13 technological partners. The priority areas are lithium for energy storage, solar and ultra-pure silicon, as well as the use of REM in artificial intelligence-based solutions.
The paradox is that Russia is not losing in geology, but in chemical extraction technology. The USA and China have already called REM the new gold, but without its own processing, Russian electronics, lasers, and catalysts remain dependent on imports. The launch of 12 chains is an attempt to close the cycle within the country and stop exporting its own raw materials abroad only to buy them back as finished oxides and metals.