The largest oil company in Russia has a new ambition: rare earth elements.
What’s happening:
- Russia’s largest state owned oil company Rosneft has officially acquired the mining license for the Tomtor rare earth deposit located in Siberia
Why it matters:
- The Tomtor deposit is considered to be one of the world’s largest rare earth deposits, with nearly 2M tonnes of rare earth elements as well as very high concentrations of niobium oxide
Going deeper:
- Rosneft is the single largest producer of oil in all of Russia and the new purchase of the Tomtor rare earth deposit is the first time ever that Rosneft has acquired a property for the purpose of mining rare earth elements
- There continues to be a global race for rare earth elements, which has been dramatically accelerated by China restricting the exportation of rare earths globally and the White House beginning a formal investigation into the risks of relying on foreign countries for the supply of rare earth elements
The fine print:
- The Tomtor deposit in Siberia is very remote and only accessible during winter when vehicles can be transported to the project over ice roads, as there are no paved roads leading to the property and rivers and swamps form during warmer temperatures that make it impossible for machinery to access large amounts of the property
