Antonina Levashenko, Head of the International Best Practices Analysis Department at the Gaidar Institute, stated in a commentary for RIA Novosti that Russia needs state support and additional investments in order to join top-5 world leaders for the production of rare earth elements (REE).
“Firstly, Russia needs state support to localize the production of finished high-tech products and components in Russia (electronics, optics, special ceramics and alloys, permanent magnets, electric vehicles, wind generators, etc.) in order to enter top-5 in the global market for rare earth metal products as well as to implement plans to create another 15 new production facilities by 2035, which in the long term will also ensure growth in financing for raw materials projects. For example, the need for REE is 95% only for traction electric motors. Secondly, it is expedient to attract additional investments in the development of processing technologies in order to increase the commercial production of REE, to include new types of ores in the development, for example, technologies for separating collective REE concentrates into individual oxides,” the expert noted.
Antonina Levashenko underlined that Russia’s current contribution in the global REE production is extremely low (1%). “This is associated with the implementation of enrichment technologies in Russia for processing rare earth metals, which is unprofitable and energy-intensive for producers,” the expert explained.
