Russia has over 28 million tons of proven reserves of rare earth metals — Shoigu
MOSCOW, October 24. /TASS/. Russia has at least 15 types of rare earth metals, and the total reserves of only 18 explored deposits exceed 28 million tons, Security Council Secretary Sergey Shoigu said.
"According to a report by the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment published in January 2023, there are at least 15 types of rare earth metals in our country, and the total reserves at the 18 explored fields exceed 28 million tons," he wrote in an article he contributed to Izvestia.
Shoigu said that less than 2% of rare earth metals total proven reserves are developed.
"The bulk of the rare earth metals for the needs of the Russian economy is imported. The involvement of this most valuable resource in the economy and the creation of a full cycle of rare earth metals processing within the country is a task on which not only the future success depends, but also, perhaps, the very existence of the Russian Federation as a sovereign state from a historical point of view," he said.
However, he said, Russia is able to be a technological partner, as it has unique reserves of rare earth metals.
"China controls 80% of the global market, but Russia has unique reserves and an engineering school. The cluster [of deep processing of critical metals in the Angara-Yenisei macroregion] will create an alternative to Western supply chains, offering countries in the global South a model of cooperation without sanctions pressure," Shoigu said.
