The event was organized by CREON ENERGY with the support of the Association of Producers and Consumers of Rare and Rare Earth Metals and took place at the Baltschug Kempinski Hotel.
The Rare Earths magazine acted as an information partner.
The conference was attended by leading players in the industry of rare and rare earth metals, including: RM and REE Association, Skygrad Group of Companies, Arkmineral-resurs, VIMS, National Research Nuclear University MEPhI, Institute of Chemical Safety of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Aksion - Rare and Precious Metals, Rusatom MetallTech, Megapolisresurs, Corporation Istok, MetalResearch, Infomine, SmartConsult Group.
Participants discussed key topics:
• Review of the world REM market and the place of the Russian Federation in it.
• What is the role of the industry road map and the withdrawal of RZM from the increased MET?
• What imports will our country be able to replace in the foreseeable future, and where will dependence remain?
• Promising projects for the production of rare and rare earth metals.
• What position will the state take on the issue of supporting the industry?
• Growth points for RM and REE domestic consumption.
• Sources of financing for the industry.
• How to establish a dialogue between the industry so as not to hinder its development?
With a welcoming speech, the round table was opened by the CEO of Creon Energy Sanjar Turgunov. He drew the attention of the participants to the fact that there are a number of problems in the field of mining and processing of rare and rare earth metals related to state regulation, the payback of enterprises, and the development of deposits, and called for joint efforts to develop the necessary solutions. Sanjar Turgunov thanked the RM and REE Association for their assistance in organizing the conference.
Chairman of the RM and REE Association Ruslan Dimukhamedov made a presentation "Development of the RM and REE Industry", in which he reviewed the main approaches to the development of the industry, presented promising areas, and touched upon problematic issues important for this business and proposed a set of solutions.
Ruslan Rafkatovich emphasized: “In order to preserve national sovereignty, it is necessary to move away from dependence on raw materials, including in terms of RM and REE production chains. The geopolitical changes of recent years (pressure from Western countries, a special operation) actualize the tasks of launching our own production facilities of high added value, it is necessary to establish effective cooperation between participants at all stages of the production cycle.”
Ruslan Dimukhamedov also noted that the conference will allow a comprehensive approach to the search for new technological solutions, involvement in the production of promising deposits, marketing and building a full cycle of processing RM and REE and, ultimately, to contribute to bringing the rare metal industry to the level of an independent integrated industry from ore mining to high value-added products, oriented both to domestic consumers and for export.
Chairman of the Board of the RM and REE Association Igor Demidov in his report "Lithium - oil of the XXI century" paid great attention to the need to eliminate gaps in the technological chain of lithium production, presented a demand forecast for lithium, pointed to key drivers for the implementation of lithium projects in Russia.
“Given the development of the share of electric vehicles and energy storage devices, the demand for lithium is growing. Russia has also joined this trend, and we know for sure that the prospects for the growth of domestic consumption will be the drivers for the implementation of lithium projects in Russia: the Arctic, space, the defense complex, green energy - lithium is needed for the development of all these areas,” said Igor Leonidovich. At the end of his speech, Igor Demidov called for actively stimulating the development of cathode materials and components as the missing link in the production chain in order to get away from import dependence on lithium products by 2030.
The conference program also included reports on:
• Georgy Goncharov, Managing Analyst, MetalResearch “World REM Market. Results of 2022"
• Igor Petrov, General Director, Infomine "Trends in the production and consumption of rare-earth metals in the world and Russia"
• Anna Valueva, General Director, SmartConsult Group "Analysis of the Russian and global lithium market: realities of the present and development prospects"
• Zhanetta Galiyeva, Deputy General Director for Science, Laboratory of Innovative Technologies, Skygrad Group of Companies “Production of REM and REM products in Russia: state and prospects for the development of production and consumption”
• Andrey Trenin, General Director, Arkmineral-resource "Afrikand project: titanium, niobium, tantalum, REM for the technological sovereignty of Russia"
• Maxim Irishkin, Member of the Board of Directors, Aksion - Rare and Precious Metals "Experience in the development and supply of lithium recovery technology"
• Alexander Domov, project manager magnets, Rusatom MetallTech "Creation of large-scale production of permanent rare earth magnets"
• Svetlana Anufrieva, Head of the Technology Department, VIMS "Development of technologies for the enrichment of complex ores of strategic rare metals"
• Vladimir Matsyuk, Director, Megapolisresurs "Recovery of REM from Waste/Electric Vehicles as a Consumption Growth Point"
• Oleg Maslennikov, Managing Director, Istok Corporation (Infolom®/Ruslom®), member of TC 462 “Secondary non-ferrous metals”, Rosstandart RF “Secondary RM and REE in GOST R 54564-2022 “SCRAP AND WASTE OF NON-FERROUS METALS AND ALLOYS. General technical conditions”, which came into force on April 1, 2023”
• Alexander Valkov, Professor of the Department of General Chemistry, National Research Nuclear University MEPhI "New technical solutions in the separation of rare earth concentrates"
• Konstantin Dementiev, Deputy Head of the Laboratory "Catalysts for Petrochemical Processes", Institute of Chemical Industry of the Russian Academy of Sciences "Application of rare earth metals in catalysis"
Igor Petrov, General Director, Infomine "Trends in the production and consumption of rare-earth metals in the world and Russia"
Georgy Goncharov, Managing Analyst, MetalResearch
Zhanetta Galiyeva, Deputy General Director for Science, Laboratory of Innovative Technologies, Skygrad Group of Companies
Anna Valueva, CEO, SmartConsult Group
Tatyana Yushina, Head of the Mineral Processing Department, NUST MISiS
In the coming years, Russia plans to reduce its dependence on imports of rare and rare-earth metals, then fully meet its domestic needs for individual REM compounds based on its own raw materials, and by 2030, take second place after China in terms of REM production.
We have everything we need to bring the production of rare and rare earth metals to a decent level: material resources, government statements, and growing demand for REM. The main thing is not to stop half way!
Photo: Alexander Chikin