Russia will nationalize the only large plant of rare earth metals | 07.10.21
The Russian authorities are preparing to reverse the results of the privatization of the 1990s in order to nationalize the country’s only large enterprise for the production of rare earth metals.
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How reports “Interfax”The General Prosecutor’s Office has filed a lawsuit in the Arbitration Court of the Perm Territory for the claim in favor of the state of the shares of the Solikamsk Magnesium Plant, which accounts for almost 100% of the rare earth industry of the Russian Federation.
Built under Stalin, the facility is the oldest operating magnesium plant in the world and also produces niobium, tantalum and titanium sponge.
The prosecutor’s office demands to withdraw in favor of the state 89.5% of the shares of the joint-stock company owned by Sergei Kirpichev (15.45%), Petr Kondrashev (24%), Timur Starostin (25%) and Igor Pestrikov (25%, are pledged by Kondrashev).
As a justification, the lawsuit states that the privatization of the plant in 1994-96 was carried out in violation of the current legislation. As a result, the enterprise was removed from the ownership of the Russian Federation “against its will” and “is currently in illegal possession,” the Prosecutor General’s Office argues.
The court accepted the claim for proceedings on October 4 and set the first hearing for November 18.
The plant, which has been the subject of a corporate conflict for many years, came under the gun of the FAS two years ago, which challenged the courts to transfer its shares to the offshore Prenston Enterprises.
The only major enterprise: to revive the mining of REE, which was almost completely stopped with the collapse of the USSR.
Now the country produces only 150 tons of rare earths, while the consumption of 1.1 thousand tons, of which the lion’s share – 875 tons – is needed for civilian industry, in particular oil and gas processing, metallurgy and optics, he said in an interview “Kommersant” in July, the deputy head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade Alexei Bezprozvannykh.
Since Soviet times, the production of rare earth metals has collapsed almost 80 times. “Separation capacities in Russia have been completely lost, and now our country is importing up to 90% of REM of high value added”, – stated the Deputy Minister.
This must be done away with. “The key task by 2023 is to achieve a production output of 500 tons, and by 2024 – up to 2 thousand tons, to reduce import dependence on rare metals to 50%, and from rare earth metals – to 20%. By 2030, we plan to completely abandon the import of rare and rare-earth metals, ”Bezprozvannykh said.
According to the Accounts Chamber, now Russia uses more than 60% of scarce minerals in significant volumes, and for some of them, import from imports is 100%.
Foreign supplies of raw materials cover 100% of the economy’s demand for titanium, chromium, manganese and lithium, as well as more than 87% of the demand for zirconium.
In addition, Russia covers almost 50% of its copper demand by imports; two thirds – in bauxite; 100% depends on foreign supplies of iodine, as well as in significant volumes of purchases abroad of fluorspar (95%), bentonites for foundry (89.6%), kaolin (68.3%).