President of Belarus Instructs to Explore for Rare Earth Metals

President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko has tasked Belarusian specialists with investigating the presence of rare earth metals in the country.

This statement was made by the Belarusian leader on March 4 during a meeting where personnel decisions were made and the key tasks for the relevant sector of the government were defined, overseen by Deputy Prime

Minister Yuri Shuleiko, as reported by BelTA.

The President emphasized the importance of geological exploration. "This is a very relevant topic," highlighted Alexander Lukashenko. Given the current global context, the extraction of rare earth materials is a hot topic. "It is said that we have rare earth minerals in our dumps. We need to explore the rest as well—chemicals, oil, gas, and more. I have set this task before the relevant minister," the head of state stated.

Lukashenko noted that geological exploration in the country is underdeveloped and is currently at a low level. The search for rare earth metals tends to fall off the radar of domestic specialists. "Only Trump in the United States talks about rare earth metals. You haven't thought about this yet. There aren’t many of them in the earth. Maybe we have just as much as others?" he posed to the specialists.

Addressing the relevant deputy prime minister, the President added: "Therefore, the Minister of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection will have to work hard with you. This is the future. We need to dig and see what we have in our soil."