Opinions & Interviews

“Foreign investors, including Russian companies, already participate in some projects to explore and develop mineral deposits in Belarus. The process will continue. Naturally, one of the aims of the forum is to attract more investment into the Belarusian economy, into mineral exploration,” Andrei Kovkhuto noted.

As for mineral resource exploration in Belarus, the minister said that the economic aspect is always kept in mind. “Exploration of mineral deposits should be economically justifiable. Today we have deposits of three natural resources that we export. The technology solutions that will be discussed during the forum will help us use local fuels for import substitution,” Andrei Kovkhuto explained.

The minister added that there are plans in the EEU to develop common approaches to processing of geological information and search for technological and economic opportunities for efficient mineral exploration. “This is very important. It will allow us to assess not only the value of mineral deposits according to modern requirements, but also the possibility of their development and the economic effect we will obtain. We will take a closer look at the proven deposits that are not mined and will invite investors to participate in their development,” the minister said.

Besides, Belarus has experience in the development of deposits of oil, potash salts, and construction materials. “Our specialists can share their best practices with EEU colleagues and learn something from them. For example, we are interested in Russian and Kazakhstani mining technologies. The forum is expected to establish an effective exchange of information, adjust the technologies to our deposits,” Andrei Kovkhuto pointed out.

Other matters to be discussed include the development of the common EEU market of raw materials, the mining policy of the Belarus-Russian Union State, the challenges and opportunities for mining enterprises in the context of the integration processes in Eurasia, the creation of cross-border mining clusters, and the promotion of public-private partnership in the mining sector.

Minsk is hosting the Eurasian Mining and Geological Forum on 2 to 4 February. The event has been organized with the support of the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Ministry of Belarus, the geology research center, the Belarusian State Technological University and the international consulting company IMC Montan in Minsk. The forum is expected to become a permanent platform for the productive discussion of industry-specialized problems of interstate cooperation and supranational integration associations in Eurasia.