Today, the President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko held a meeting on the state and development of the mineral resource base of the republic, and the expansion of geological exploration work.
The event was attended by the Minister of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Andrei Khudyk. Also among the participants were the leadership and members of the Government, representatives of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, all governors, heads of the RUE Production Association Belorusneft and OAO Belaruskali.
The head of state drew attention to the fact that all minerals are the national treasure of the country, a strategic reserve belonging to the people, and only to the people. This includes potassium, oil, fresh water (an invaluable resource on the planet in recent times), and much more.
“We need to manage what we have wisely and prudently. The state always prioritizes issues of intensive development of deposits, efficiency and rational use, as well as the introduction of the most advanced technologies for extraction, processing and, especially in our conditions, the search for new minerals,” the President emphasized.
The state of the mineral resource base and its further development were already discussed at a similar meeting eight years ago, Alexander Lukashenko recalled. Instructions were also given when Andrei Khudyk was appointed Minister of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection in 2017.
“Then you and I said that Belarus has studied the natural resources that are on the surface quite well. But we know far from everything about what is underground. Therefore, we need to increase geological exploration work,” the Head of State said.
The President noted the special importance of our own mineral and raw material resources, since they are the key to sovereignty and stable economic development. This is especially relevant now, when sanctions pressure on Belarus is increasing every year.
“It’s time to synchronize watches. And find solutions for the most problematic and insufficiently addressed issues. There are many of them. Although, of course, we have very successful industries,” the Belarusian leader said.
As an example, the Head of State noted Belaruskali, which has become a global brand. It has its own well-established system – from exploration of new deposits to fertilizer production. Meetings are regularly held at the Presidential level on the work of potash workers. Therefore, it has now been decided to focus on other important areas, primarily hydrocarbons.
“I am informed that today the industrial reserves of Belarusian oil amount to about 45 million tons. In 2016-2023, they increased by 14 million tons, including 2.5 million tons in 2023 alone, which is a record for the past 40 years,” the Belarusian leader said. – The use of new technologies, increasing the volume of seismic exploration and drilling have made it possible, since 2017, to ensure an increase in oil production by an average of 20 thousand tons per year.”
However, Alexander Lukashenko considers such rates insufficient and focuses on a comprehensive approach in this area. “What are the prospects for well development and what will we do with hard-to-recover reserves? How many years in advance are the plans for geological exploration written? Are there enough specialists and equipment?” the President asked a number of questions.
“Our common goal is not only to produce products with maximum use of domestic raw materials. There are three pillars, three growth drivers that will allow us to develop further. These are efficiency, import substitution and export,” said the Head of State.
As the President noted, the Government claims that the state program “Environmental Protection and Sustainable Use of Natural Resources” for 2016-2020 has been successfully implemented. The following is currently in progress.
“At the same time, there is still no unified control over the development of deposits. Today, many departments are empowered to use the subsoil. And, of course, each one looks after its own interests exclusively,” said Alexander Lukashenko, demanding that measures be taken to change the situation.
For example, road workers need sand – that’s all they extract from the quarry, and builders are interested in crushed stone, and power engineers – peat. But if the next layer there are associated minerals, for example, basalt under peat, then who assesses the situation and decides whether to extract or not, the President asked. “Where is the supervisory role of the Ministry of Natural Resources? I know that you were given this task more than a year ago. What has changed during this time?” Alexander Lukashenko asked the responsible persons.
Mining is carried out throughout the entire territory of Belarus. “Regulatory authorities report that often the exploitation and reclamation of quarries is carried out with violations,” the Head of State noted. “They see the reasons in the insufficient interaction between subsoil users and local authorities. They are bogged down in bureaucracy, endless approvals, expert assessments where necessary and where not. And the business suffers. I specifically ordered to invite all the governors here so that no one has any more questions about how to continue working.”
In this regard, the President cited a number of figures on the use of production capacities for the extraction of domestic raw materials in 2018–2023, provided to the Head of State by the Government. Glass and molding sands – 39%, refractory clays – 47%, chalk, marl, clay and tripoli for cement – 53%, dolomite – 38%, facing stone – 44%.
“Almost every item should be 100% if we have created the capacity. We are working at half capacity!” – the Belarusian leader noted critically. – At the same time, despite the availability of a sufficient raw material base in the country, over the past year we imported pebbles, gravel, crushed stone, almost 300 thousand tons of what we have. More than $18 million was spent. 50 thousand tons of natural sand were purchased for almost $5 million. Huge figures.”
“Prices for minerals are growing year after year. And instead of moving and taking what is literally lying under our feet, we pay without complaint,” Alexander Lukashenko noted.
As for other areas of development of the mineral resource base, the picture, according to the Head of State, is not as optimistic as for potash and oil.
The President gave another specific example concerning white clay (kaolin) for domestic tiles, which was previously imported from Ukraine. Now this raw material is purchased in Russia, although Belarus has its own deposits in the Luninets and Stolin districts.
The glass industry is not fully supplied with quartz sand, the Head of State continued. At the same time, the volume of reserves explored to date alone could solve this problem for two years at once. There are many examples of insufficiently thought-out logistics.
“And as a result, what do we have? Underutilization of production facilities and a decrease in the volume of manufactured products, which obviously drags down other indicators,” Alexander Lukashenko stated and illustrated this with fresh data on some export items.
Thus, in 2023, the enterprises of the Ministry of Architecture and Construction reduced the export of crushed stone by a quarter. The Ministry of Energy supplied almost half as much peat products abroad. “Of course, we also lost revenue. Everyone says: “Sanctions.” There are no sanctions for you. Look for other markets,” the Head of State set the task.
The President also pointed out shortcomings in the work of the Scientific and Production Center for Geology, which is engaged in exploration for all areas. “The State Control Committee reports that the technological production funds there are 90% worn out,” said Alexander Lukashenko.
At the same time, the Belarusian leader also spoke critically about the assessment of the degree of equipment depreciation by the State Control Committee – why exactly 90% and not 88%. “In 2022, I made a decision to strengthen this material and technical base. Over two years, 21 units of state-of-the-art machinery and equipment have been purchased. The result?” – the Head of State continued.
The President also addressed a specific question on the topic of improving geological exploration to the Academy of Sciences: “Do scientists have new methods, programs and breakthrough technologies?”
Materials of the Official Internet Portal of the President of the Republic of Belarus
