en.Wedoany.com Reported - The Angara-Yenisei Cluster for deep processing of non-ferrous, rare, and rare-earth metals became one of the core applied topics at the "Rare, Strategic: Sovereignty and International Cooperation in Rare Earth and Critical Minerals" session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. The project was presented as one of the tools to help Russia establish a critical metals industry—from resource base development and primary processing to the production of high-value-added materials, components, and products. More broadly, this involves a transition to a new economic model where the main added value is created domestically.
Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov, Saudi Arabian Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Bandar bin Ibrahim Al-Khorayef, Russian Minister of Natural Resources and Ecology Alexander Kozlov, Rector of St. Petersburg Mining University Vladimir Litvinenko, Sierra Leonean Minister of Mines and Mineral Resources Julius Mattai, General Director of the International Company "Region" Vladislav Sviblov, President of the "Soyuz" Group Musa Bazayev, Director of Technology Development at Rosatom Andrey Shevchenko, Vice President of Rusal Elena Bezdenezhnykh, and other representatives from government, business, science, and expert communities participated in the discussion. The "Mendeleev Valley" Foundation—the project office of the Angara-Yenisei Cluster—was represented by its General Director, Ksenia Shoigu.
Rare and rare-earth metals have become one of the most discussed topics on the industrial agenda of the 2026 St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. Today, critical minerals are seen not only as a raw material base but also as the foundation of a new technological structure: electronics, energy storage systems, electric mobility, unmanned systems, space technology, high-precision mechanical engineering, robotics, and new materials.
Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov noted: "Today, it is impossible to imagine the production of high-tech products—from basic industry to microelectronics and medical equipment—without rare and rare-earth metals. For Russia, which faces the goals of import substitution and technological sovereignty, merely extracting raw materials and producing concentrates is insufficient. We must have our own separation technologies, produce oxides, carbonates, and high-value-added products, including permanent magnets and other components needed by modern industry."
In the global economy, competition in this field is gradually shifting from access to mineral deposits to control over the entire production chain—from extraction and processing to obtaining materials, components, and final high-tech products.
Saudi Arabian Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Bandar bin Ibrahim Al-Khorayef pointed out: "Resources alone are no longer enough: technology, investment, products, and a complete production chain are also needed. The development of the mineral resources industry will depend on international cooperation, science, technology, and human capital."
For Russia, the issue of rare-earth metals is directly linked to technological sovereignty and the creation of new high-value-added industries domestically. Therefore, it is at the center of state policy.
Russian Minister of Natural Resources and Ecology Alexander Kozlov stated that Russia possesses one of the world's largest raw material bases for rare-earth metals, capable of meeting the needs of both domestic consumers and export supplies. Additionally, since 2024, licenses for deposits of scarce mineral raw materials have been issued with a mandatory condition for deep processing within Russia.
The Angara-Yenisei Cluster is presented as one of the backbone projects for implementing the state's industrial policy in the critical metals sector. Designed to fulfill the instructions of the Russian President, the project should integrate key links of the industry: the raw material link based on mineral resources; the energy link to support new production facilities; the processing and chemical technology link for the separation and purification of rare and rare-earth metals; the manufacturing link for producing materials and components; and the scientific, engineering, and talent link for technology development and personnel training.
Ksenia Shoigu explained: "The importance and scale of the task set by the Russian President to develop the deep processing of domestic critical metals determine the working methods and pace of the Angara-Yenisei Cluster. In six months, the project has entered the practical implementation phase. A nationwide cooperation system is being formed, along with a strong cohort of participants comprising large industry companies, state corporations, financial, scientific, and educational institutions, as well as federal and regional government bodies. The partner cohort has been formed in the first six months. We already have 17 agreements, including those signed at the 2026 St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. These agreements shape the industrial, energy, financial, digital, scientific-technological, regional, and ecological contours of the cluster. The investment portfolio exceeds 700 billion rubles. The first production facilities are planned for Minusinsk and Sayanogorsk: a hydrometallurgical plant for processing concentrate from the Tastyg deposit, a small chemical plant, and a data processing center. Construction of an Innovation and Technology Center will also begin this year, which will serve as an application base for raw material separation technologies, electric mobility, energy storage devices, additive technologies, digital solutions, and artificial intelligence."
The cluster will be created as a distributed system, where different participants cover individual links within a unified production and technological chain: raw materials, processing, manufacturing, energy, digital, scientific-engineering, talent, and cooperation with future industrial consumers. This model should link the extraction and processing of raw materials with separation and purification technologies, the production of materials and components, infrastructure, applied research, personnel training, and the needs of industrial users.
The lithium industry direction exemplifies such a production and technological chain. General Director of the International Company "Region" Vladislav Sviblov noted that a lithium deposit can only become a true industrial asset if integrated into a subsequent chain from extraction and hydrometallurgical processing to materials for energy storage systems. He stated that "Region" plans to develop part of this chain based on the Angara-Yenisei Cluster, while the technical tasks related to creating cathode materials are planned to be carried out on the platform of the "Mendeleev Valley" Innovation and Technology Center.
The Angara-Yenisei Cluster project plans to establish over 15 new production enterprises, research, development, and certification centers. By 2040, total investment is expected to exceed 1.4 trillion rubles, and by 2041, the creation of up to 23,500 new jobs is anticipated.
The project pays special attention to ecological issues. Environmental requirements are incorporated at the project design stage, rather than after production launch. An agreement with the Federal Service for Supervision of Natural Resources is currently being prepared, and an interdepartmental working group is being formed on the Foundation's platform to oversee the ecological well-being and sustainable development of the project's operational areas.
Furthermore, ensuring the availability of qualified personnel for future industries is a key focus. Training of specialists should begin before the launch of new production facilities. Work is planned with partner universities, primarily Mendeleev University of Chemical Technology and Siberian Federal University. The required professionals include chemical technologists, materials scientists, engineers, laboratory analysts, and specialists in industrial safety, digitalization, automated management systems, logistics, and supply.
Vice President of Rusal Elena Bezdenezhnykh emphasized the importance of international cooperation with friendly countries in processing, production, and sales. She noted that for a diversified industrial enterprise involved in aluminum, molybdenum, and silicon, expanding the circle of partners is an important condition for further advancing projects within the framework of the Angara-Yenisei Cluster.
Work in this direction is already underway. Cooperation with foreign partners within the framework of the cluster creation project should enhance the speed and efficiency of solving industrial and technological problems in the field of rare and rare-earth metals in Russia. The priorities are national interests and localization of production within Russia. Therefore, interaction with foreign companies is primarily planned as technological and investment cooperation—in high-value-added areas, including creating a component base for electric mobility and space technology.
The "Mendeleev Valley" Foundation is actively cooperating with India—the first agreement on the joint development of rare-earth metals is planned to be signed in 2026. Negotiations are also underway with partners from China and the UAE.
Thus, the Angara-Yenisei Cluster is effectively becoming a platform for building a completely new critical metals industry—with its own technological base, industrial partners, personnel system, ecological safeguards, and international cooperation network.
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