Russia’s top oil producer, state-controlled Rosneft, has acquired the company that holds the license to operate and develop a giant rare earths deposit in Siberia, the largest such reserve in Russia and one of the world’s biggest.
Rosneft has taken over control of Vostok Engineering, the company which holds the license for the Tomtor rare earth metals deposit in Yakutia, the Russian national companies registry showed on Wednesday.
At the end of 2024, Russian President Vladimir Putin urged the Tomtor deposit to be developed, either by the then owner of the licenses, or with the help of third parties.
“Those businesses that took these deposits many years ago are not investing. We need somehow to talk to them and resolve this issue: either they invest, or they somehow build relations with other companies, with the state,” Putin said in November.
“This is a strategic resource that the state needs now,” the Russian president added.
In the hands of state-controlled Rosneft, which is led by Putin’s ally Igor Sechin, the rare earth deposit could be a step closer to development.
Tomtor is believed to be one of the world’s three biggest rare earth metal deposits, as well as one of the richest in terms of rare earth metal content in ores. The deposit of niobium, which is used in the automotive, aerospace, and shipbuilding industries, is considered to be the largest in the world.
Earlier this year, the Tomtor deposit was a candidate for potential U.S.-Russian cooperation in rare earth metals if a peace agreement with Ukraine had been reached, a source close to the Russian government told Bloomberg last month.
Russia, the U.S., and many other countries are looking to develop domestic resources of critical and rare earth metals, in a bid to reduce their dependence on China. But experts warn that refining, not just mining, is key to breaking China’s grip on critical minerals.
By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com
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