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Russia Today
6 days ago
- Science
- Russia Today
Russian miners find 40-million-year-old cockroach (VIDEO)
A fossilized cockroach estimated to be 35 to 40 million years old has been discovered in a piece of amber in Russia's Kaliningrad Region. The specimen was found during manual sorting at the Kaliningrad Amber Combine, a facility operated by technology giant Rostech, the company announced on Thursday. The insect is encased in a 41x21 mm piece of amber weighing 7 grams. Rostech noted that the cockroach is preserved near the surface of the amber, allowing for detailed observation of its wings, legs, and head. Anna Dugina, a gemologist at the Kaliningrad Amber Combine, said the find is the largest cockroach-like specimen discovered by the facility in the past five years. She estimated its age at no less than 35 to 40 million years. 'The cockroach was covered in resin in an exceptionally fortunate way,' she added. 'It is located very close to the surface of the amber, but still far enough from the edge. This made it possible to spot the inclusion during sorting and later grind and polish the surface without damaging it.' The scientist explained that although the insect differs from cockroaches found today, similar species still live in tropical areas. The Kaliningrad Amber Combine is the only enterprise globally that mines amber on an industrial scale. The facility has developed unique extraction methods to preserve the integrity of amber pieces, especially those containing inclusions of flora and fauna. The discovery adds to the collection of the Kaliningrad Regional Amber Museum, which houses over 14,000 individual pieces, including more than 3,000 amber inclusions. Baltic amber, such as that found in Kaliningrad, is known for preserving ancient life forms in remarkable detail. The region holds over 90% of the world's amber reserves, most of which is located near the village of Yantarny.
Reuters
18-03-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Putin urges officials not to freeze Russian economy in 'cryotherapy chamber'
MOSCOW, March 18 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin urged his economic officials on Tuesday not to freeze the Russian economy as if it were in a "cryotherapy chamber" with their tight monetary policy ahead of Friday's rate decision. All 29 economists in a Reuters poll predict that the central bank board will keep its key interest rate on hold at 21%, the highest level in over 20 years, to tame inflation. here. However, many economists, including some advising the government, have said that the economy outside the defence sector is already stagnating and blame central bank policy. "It is clear that this (cooling) is inevitable. Both the government and the central bank have generally talked about it. Overall, there seems to be an agreement," Putin told the congress of a Russian business lobby. "It's essential that everything proceeds as planned in practice, avoiding excessive cooling like in a cryotherapy chamber," Putin added, referring to the wellness treatment in which people are exposed to temperatures as low as -140 Celsius. Putin spoke during a so-called "silence week" when the central bank refrains from any public comments on its possible rate decision. The central bank stunned analysts last December when it unexpectedly kept the key interest rate on hold following Putin's call for a "balanced" decision, which was made one day before the board meeting. In February it held rates again, as expected. The central bank forecasts that the Russian economy's growth rates will fall to 0.5-1.5% in 2025 as a result of its monetary policy, while the government expects the economy to grow by 2.5%. The central bank's tight policy in recent months prompted criticism from business leaders who say it is stifling investment without achieving the goal of lowering inflation. "Today, investment programs have practically come to a standstill," Sergei Chemezov, head of the defence and industrial conglomerate Rostech and a longtime friend of Putin, told reporters at the same event.
Observer
28-02-2025
- Business
- Observer
What are rare earth metals and why are they in demand?
President Vladimir Putin has offered the US the opportunity under a future economic deal to jointly explore Russia's rare earth metal deposits that he says are greater than those of Ukraine. Putin's offer followed negotiations between the US and Ukraine over a draft minerals deal that is expected to be signed during Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's visit to Washington on Friday. "I'd like to buy minerals on Russian land too. If we can, the rare earth. They have very good rare earth also, they both do (Russia and Ukraine)," Trump said, adding the deal would be beneficial for Russia as well as for the US. China's control of 95 per cent of global production and supplies of rare earth metals, crucial for industries such as defence and consumer electronics, has focused the rest of the world on trying to develop their own supplies. According to the Natural Resources Ministry, Russia has reserves of 15 rare earth metals totalling 28.7 million tonnes as of January 1, 2023 and that 3.8 million tonnes is the amount of reserves under development or ready for development. Russia aims to become one of the top five rare earth metals producers with up to 12 per cent of the global market share by 2030, according to its sector development strategy. Tomtor, located in the northern Siberian region of Yakutia, along with Zashikhinskoye in the Irkutsk region of Siberia, are central projects to Russia's plans to boost metals output. The launch of both extraction sites has been delayed. High technology enterprises, which are part of Rosatom or industrial and defence conglomerate Rostech, are likely to be the main domestic consumers of rare earth metals. WHAT ARE THEY? Rare earths are a group of 17 elements including 15 silvery-white metals called lanthanides, or lanthanoids, plus scandium and yttrium. WHAT ARE THEY USED FOR? They are used in a wide range of products including consumer electronics, electric vehicles (EVs), aircraft engines, medical equipment, oil refining and military applications such as missiles and radar systems. WHAT COUNTRY IS THE BIGGEST PRODUCER? China accounts for about 60 per cent of global mine production and 90 per cent of processed and permanent magnet output. Beijing sets quotas on output, smelting and separation, which are closely monitored as a barometer of global supply. WHAT ARE THEIR NAMES? In their periodic table order, they are: scandium, yttrium, lanthanum, cerium, praseodymium, neodymium, promethium, samarium, europium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, holmium, erbium, thulium, ytterbium and lutetium. WHICH ONES ARE MOST COMMON? Lanthanum and cerium are among the most common rare earth metals. Lanthanum is used in camera lenses and lighting. Cerium is used in catalytic converters, which reduce combustion engine emissions. Neodymium and praseodymium are in demand for permanent magnets used in EV motors and wind turbines. ARE THEY RARE? They are not rare in the sense that they are uncommon; some are more common than lead, for example. But they tend to be spread thin around the Earth's crust in small quantities and mixed together or with other minerals, so larger deposits are difficult to find and costly to extract. WHAT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT DO THEY HAVE? Processing rare earths often involves the use of solvents, which can produce toxic waste that pollutes the soil, water and atmosphere. More environmentally friendly technologies are being developed, but they are not yet widely used. Certain types of rare earth ores also contain radioactive thorium or uranium, which is often removed using acid. For this reason, development of the sector faces health and environmental regulatory hurdles. — Reuters
