Rosneft Corporation became the sole owner of the rich Tomtor rare earth metal (REM) deposit in Yakutia.
According to RBC, the license for the Tomtor deposit was issued back in 2013, but development has not yet begun. In 2024, the Russian leadership claimed that the project was strategically important, and the state needed REMs as soon as possible.
The license for the development of the site is owned by Vostok Engineering LLC, which previously belonged to one of the structures of the IST group owned by Alexander Nesis (Polymetal). However, on May 20, the company came under Rosneft’s control.
The Tomtor rare earth metal deposit is located in the northwest of Yakutia on the territory of the Olenek Evenki National District; it was discovered in the 1970s. The project contains significant reserves of crandallite-monazite ore. The deposit is one of the richest in the world in terms of rare earth metal content in ore and the largest in terms of niobium reserves.
Meanwhile, a number of experts note the extreme difficulty of developing the Tomtor deposit, since it is located in a hard-to-reach region where there is virtually no infrastructure present.
Theodor Lisovoy, Managing Editor, Rough&Polished
