NOVOSIBIRSK, February 25. /TASS/. The appraisal of rare-earth metals in the Arctic region may bring Russia to the top position globally in terms of reserves, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences Nikolay Pokhilenko told TASS.
"Russia is rich. China, is certainly at the first place. Good reserves are in Latin America andw Canada. We have many unexplored targets in the Arctic zone; this [appraisal of reserves - TASS] may bring Russia to the first place, as a matter of principle," the academician said.
Such deposits may well be explored together by the United States and Russia, he added. The demand for rare and rare-earth metals will grow by a factor of five by 2040, he added.