Russian billionaire Vladimir Potanin has said he is wants to ramp up exploration of rare earth reserves in Russia and Russian-occupied Ukraine, hinting that “foreign partners” may be brought into the fold amid the Trump-drive thaw.
Potanin, who owns the metallurgical giant Norilsk Nickel (Nornickel) and like most oligarchs in Russia, has close links with President Vladimir Putin, said there are many resources in Russia which remain unexplored.
His comments on Tuesday, cited by state news agency Interfax, follow an overture by Putin this month offering Trump the opportunity to jointly explore Russian deposits of rare earth metals.
They also came on the same day as CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) said Russia’s sovereign wealth fund wants to partner with U.S, companies to explore minerals in Russia.
Newsweek has contacted the White House for comment.
Why it matters
The Trump administration has presented its quest for rare earths in Ukraine as a way to make up for the price tag Washington has faced for its military support for Kyiv against Russian aggression.
Whether such a deal can eventuate is unclear but Putin appeared to present Russia as a more profitable supplier of such minerals during an interview with state media earlier this month.
Putin has offered the U.S. the opportunity under a future economic deal, to jointly explore Russia’s rare earth metal deposits, which he claimed are more extensive than those of Ukraine that Trump has his eye on.
Critics of the Russian government warned against such projects, noting that Putin’s plan appeared to include Ukrainian deposits in parts of the Donbas illegally occupied by Russia.
Potanin’s remarks Tuesday reported by Russian media did not mention Trump or the U.S. but they could amplify Putin’s narrative that Washington should deal with Russia when it comes to valuable minerals.
What to know
Rare earths and other critical metals needed for high-tech industries have been a focus for Trump as he tries to counter China’s dominance in the sector.
Potanin, CEO and shareholder of Nornickel, which is the world’s largest producer of refined nickel and the 11th largest copper producer, said he is considering projects in rare earths.
He said reserves in Russia and eastern Ukraine partly occupied by Moscow have been poorly studied. Many geological studies of the potential of such minerals in these areas had been lost after the collapse of the Soviet Union and this knowledge needed to be restored, he added.
Potanin said that “we are thinking about it and working on it,” without specifying if his firm would be involved in such a projects. Reuters reported that Potanin’s company currently does not hold any licenses for rare earth metals exploration.
Potanin said that the small size of many deposits and challenging exploration conditions, Russian firms would need partners.
Also on Tuesday, Kirill Dmitriev, CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), said Moscow wants to partner with U.S. companies to develop rare earth deposits in the country.
Dmitriev, Putin’s envoy on international economic cooperation, was part of Russia’s negotiating team at talks with U.S. officials in Saudi Arabia in February about the war in Ukraine.
Vasily Astrov, senior economist at The Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies, told Newsweek that Dmtriev’s presence at those talks was significant and one topic of discussion was cooperation in the Arctic, such as the exploration of hydrocarbon deposits for which Russia needs Western technologies.
He said there were other potential areas of cooperation between Russia and the U.S. as well “beyond the arguably over-hyped rare earth story.”
What people are saying
Nornickel CEO Vladimir Potanin: “Many deposits within our territory and the new Russian territories are inadequately explored. Many geological studies and their results were lost after the Soviet Union.. all of this needs to be restored now.”
Kirill Dmitriev, CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund: “Russia’s reserves of rare earth metals exceed the amount in Ukraine by several fold…we would like to involve American companies in these projects, there is significant interest, but Russia must also be interested.”
Vasily Astrov, senior economist at The Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies: “There was talk of strengthening bilateral (U.S.-Russia) economic ties already at the very first meeting in Riyadh in February.”
“One particular area that was discussed was cooperation in the Arctic…but it seems there are other areas as well—beyond the arguably over-hyped rare earth story.”
What happens next
The Trump administration will focus on rare earths in Ukraine but whether there can be a deal done with Russia on the same resources will become clearer following the contact between Trump and Putin.
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