Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday instructed the Russian government to complete the project by December 1 mining action plan rare earth metals used in smartphones, electric vehicles and weapon systems, Reuters reports.
In the list of tasks for ministers published on the Kremlin website, Putin He also ordered the government to take steps to develop transport connections on Russia's borders with China and North Korea.
See also: What is happening to Russia's budget? “Reserves have practically run out”
Both of Russia's eastern neighbors have strengthened economic ties with Moscow since Western countries imposed sanctions on it over the war in Ukraine.
As previously reported in Business Insider Polska, Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday expressed his willingness to develop mutual investments with Russia and confirmed Beijing's commitment to strengthening relations between the countries, despite the “turbulent” external conditions. And China is a major player in the rare earth metals market.
The fight for rare earth metals
Lagging behind China are, among others, USA. Donald Trump announced on Thursday a one-year trade agreement with China, which – as he emphasized – is intended to ease tensions between the world's two largest economies. The fundamental issue remains the trade in rare earth metals – key raw materials for American industry.
Rare earth metals are a group of seventeen chemical elements used, among others, in the production of smartphones, batteries, lasers, car components and new generation weapons. Their importance is so great that experts call them “21st century oil”.
According to the Goldman Sachs report “Managing Disruption Risk From Rare Earths and Other Critical Minerals”, Beijing uses its dominant position in the global supply chain as a tool of economic and political pressure. China today controls 69 percent. world extraction, as much as 92 percent refining and almost 98 percent production of magnets based on rare earth elements.
Analysts warn that the greatest risk of further export restrictions concerns samarium, graphite, lutetium and terbium – critical raw materials for the defense and semiconductor industries. Samarium, essential for the production of extremely resistant samarium-cobalt (SmCo) magnets used in the aerospace sector, remains virtually entirely under Chinese control.
