Companies Neftyanaya Kompaniya Rosneft’ PAO Follow

MOSCOW, May 21 (Reuters) – Russia’s largest oil producer Rosneft (ROSN.MM) , opens new tab has acquired Tomtor, the country’s largest rare earth metal deposit, a companies registry showed on Wednesday, after President Vladimir Putin ‘s call last year for development of the field to be accelerated.

Tomtor, located in the north of the Siberian region of Yakutia, is a key project in Russia’s plans to boost output of the metals that are used in the defence industry and in making mobile phones and electric cars, to reduce reliance on imports from China.

Sign up here.

According to an official state registry of Russian companies, Rosneft, headed by Igor Sechin, a long-standing ally of Putin, secured complete control over the project’s operator, Vostok Engineering, on May 20.

Rosneft did not immediately reply to a request to comment.

In November, Putin accused the operator of Tomtor of delaying the deposit’s development, suggesting it should either raise investment or seek help from third parties, including the state.

Before the Ukraine conflict, Russia planned to invest $1.5 billion in rare earth minerals, striving to become the biggest producer after China by 2030.

Other countries, including the United States, are also trying to curb their reliance on China, which controls 95% of the global production and supply of rare earth metals.

Russia has the world’s fifth-largest reserves of rare earth metals, according to U.S. Geological Survey data, after China, Brazil, India, and Australia.

USGS estimates Russia’s reserves at 3.8 million metric tons. The country aims to become one of the top five rare earth metals producers with up to a 12% share of the global market by 2030, according to its sector development strategy.

Businessman Alexander Nesis, a former shareholder in Polymetal, a major producer of gold and silver, used to own a 75% stake in a firm called ThreeArc Mining, the operator of the project, through his IST group of companies.

Polymetal used to own a 9.1% stake in ThreeArc Mining.

Following the ownership change after the start of Russian military action in Ukraine, and subsequent Western sanctions on Russian businesses, the operator of the project ended up under the control of IST’s former manager Vladislav Resin, before Rosneft gained it.

Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin and Anastasia Lyrchikova; editing by Guy Faulconbridge, Kirsten Donovan

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. , opens new tab

Details

Russian state company PJSC Rosneft bought a closely related closed company “Vostok Engineering” on May 20, which owns a license for the Tomtor administrative region in Yakutia. This data has been entered into the Russian Unified State Register of Legal Entities.

Russian dictator Vladimir Putin ordered in November to ensure the development of Tomtor either by its owners, or with the help of other investors, or with state support. Work at the field was suspended, as sanctions imposed due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 put an end to the Russian business’s access to important Western technologies.

Russia is drilling oil wells at the fastest pace in 5 years amid possible easing of sanctions – Bloomberg

Tomtor in the Russian Far East, approximately 430 km from the Sea of Okhotsk, is considered one of the world’s largest rare earth metal deposits, estimated by the Ministry of Development of the Far East and Arctic to contain a total of approximately 154 million tons of ore. It contains rare earth minerals such as monazite and pyrochlore, as well as elements such as niobium and scandium.

The project has been named a potential candidate for the development of cooperation between Russia and the United States in the event of a peace agreement with Ukraine on Moscow’s terms, an official close to the Russian government told the publication in April.

“Sort it out yourselves”: NYT found out what Trump told Zelensky after the call with Putin

There is a growing interest in new sources of critical minerals in the United States after China’s decision to restrict the export of rare earth materials. US President Donald Trump’s administration views rare earth elements as “building blocks of our defense industrial base” and as critical to the creation of jet engines, missile guidance systems, modern computers, as well as radars, optics and communications equipment.

“Powerful signal to Russia”: The White House assessed the signing of the agreement between Ukraine and the United States and clarified its details

Russia, inspired by Trump’s talk of economic deals that could be struck in the context of a long-awaited peace deal, is working on a list of projects and assets that officials hope could interest the United States. The list of opportunities includes not only rare earth metal deposits, but also energy and Arctic projects.

The US and Ukraine may wait a decade or more for profits from a minerals deal – Reuters

Let us remind you

US President Donald Trump refused to join the campaign of the European Union on sanctions pressure on Russia, because he wants to focus on economic cooperation with the Kremlin.