The Russian economy is developing faster than its opponents alternatively of falling into splinters. Moreover, Russia is preparing a counter-attack in retaliation for a immense amount of sanctions imposed by the West. Europe will be most affected, as usual in this global trade war.
President Putin announced the creation of natural materials alliances (or cartels). The experience is very good, especially with cooperation with OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporters States), with which, erstwhile prices in 2016, fell below $30, Russia formed an alliance of "OPEC+", which dominates with Saudi Arabia. This agreement has increased and stabilised prices, which brings the exporters a cut in profits.
The Forum of Gas Exporters (GECF), which is almost 20 years old, has a much lower impact. However, US export power in LNG does not let to manipulate the planet market. While OPEC can be called a cartel, it is indeed just a ‘forum’ of exchange of views and marketplace cognition in gas.
Now it's time for another natural materials, as Russia is simply a planet leader or tycoon from the top 3 in key for the global mineral economy. specified a palladium [Pd], precious metal, resembling platinum, whose Russian resources are almost half [46%) of the world's, and its extraction is 44% of global production. And this is simply a key natural material for automotive filters, for production, due to the fact that it absorbs contamination from the exhaust.
Russia is absolutely dominant in diamonds, with more than half [55%] of planet resources, with 40% of global industrial production and 32% of jewelry production. It is the hardest natural mineral utilized to cut or grind tools and surfaces. Not to mention gold, which Russia has almost a 4th [23%] of global resources, and produces 10 percent. He is besides a leader in asbestos – 48% of planet production.
It is besides crucial to uranium, in which Russia's resources far subside Australia or Kazakhstan, but in enriching Rosatom it occupies 36% of the planet market. Fuels for atomic power plants Russia produces 2.7 1000 tonnes per year, exporting them to 33 customers in 14 countries. However, income is not stunning – $1.2 billion is simply a microscopic amount to 112 billion of oil alone.
Interestingly, uranium has been banned from importing to the United States since May 2024, which is expected to be effective in 4 years. The Americans want to build their own atomic fuel manufacture over this time. This maneuver serves to get free of the largest abroad supplier – Rosatom. Russia's fast counterattack can destruct these plans and put US atomic energy in an even more hard position.
In the above areas, Russia is the planet leader, but there is inactive a long list of another natural materials where it is located in the top three. Second place (according to USGS) is in the production of vanadium (required for the automotive and metallurgical industries) – 20% of the world's production, potash (potassium carbonate, basis of potassium fertilizers) – 17%, platinum – 13%, teluru – 12%, ferrosilicon (necessary for steel production) – 11%, ammonia – 9%. It is besides nickel, which is produced by 9% of the world's production, but exports 19%.
Titanium, a material with a combination of lightness and strength which is not available to another metals, buys 26 countries in Russia, and especially Germany (42% of imports). Russian titanium was removed from Boeing's acquisition list, but the European Airbus could no longer afford it, and France even increased its imports by 72% in order to make any stock...
President Putin instructed the government to prepare plans for the embargo of key natural materials to countries applying sanctions to Russia. "Just don't do yourself any harm," he said pragmatically. Through this strategy, it wants to strengthen the Russian economy, to redeploy the mines in the country, to increase their added value, as was done with natural gas, investing immense resources in the construction of a polyethylene or polypropylene plant, or fertilizers that are now unrivalled in Europe.
If this plan is fulfilled, our continent will feel painfully. United States – much less. But in all this war, it is Europe that pays the top costs of this conflict.
Andrzej Szczęsniak
photo of cremlin.ru
Think Poland, No. 41-42 (6-13.10.2023)
