NOVOSIBIRSK, September 1. /TASS/. The Krasnoyarsk and Irkutsk Regions in the Siberian Federal District have three deposits of rare earth metals that are potentially interesting for mining. They are more accessible than the Tomtorskoye field - one of the largest fields in the world, located in the Arctic, Director of the Institute of Geology and Mineralogy (the Russian Academy of Sciences' Siberian Branch) Nikolay Kruk told TASS.
Earlier, Russia's President Vladimir Putin said that Russia is an undisputed global leader in rare earth metals reserves, adding Russia would be happy to work with any foreign partners in the rare earth metals industry, including American ones.
"Quite many deposits are located in the Krasnoyarsk and Irkutsk Regions – the Beloziminskaya group of deposits, the Chuktukonskoye and Zashikhinskoye fields," the scientist said.
The Beloziminskoye and Zashikhinskoye fields are located near Nizhneudinsk, the Irkutsk Region. Both have reserves of niobium. The Chuktukonskoye deposit, also rich in niobium ores, is located in the Krasnoyarsk Region's Boguchansky District.
In terms of reserves, these deposits are not as significant as the Tomtorskoye deposit of rare earth metals, located in Yakutia's north-west, which is considered one of the largest in the world. However, the geologist continued, the Siberian deposits of rare earth metals are more accessible. The mining feasibility needs to be calculated for decades ahead, he added.
Russia needs to have factories to make products from rare earth metals, in particular, magnets, engines, and electronics, he said.
"Until now, we have got complex carbonates of rare earth elements with further processing outside the country, and, accordingly, there are very few industries in the country that consume rare earth metals and make final products," he said in conclusion.