Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko has called for the country’s geologists to begin searching for rare earth metals.
“They say we have rare earth minerals in our waste deposits. We need to explore the rest — chemicals, oil, gas, and more. I have assigned the relevant minister to this task,” he said at a government meeting, according to the state news agency BelTA.
Lukashenko noted that rare earth metals have taken on new significance, referencing a proposed agreement between the United States and Ukraine.
“It’s only Trump in the U.S. talking about rare earth metals. You haven’t thought about it yet. You can never have too much of them. Maybe we have just as much as others?” he said, addressing officials.
“This is the future. We need to dig, we need to see what’s in our land,” he added.
