6 ALASKA RESOURCE REVIEW SUMMER 2024 THE SUMMER AIR WAS FRESH WITH THE SCENTS OF THE TAIGA. We pulled up to the bank of a town that once provided muscovite to the Soviet military during the Cold War. The main street is better described as a boulevard lined by tall trees and large blocky, yet well-organized buildings stood in order, a testament to the Soviet style of community planning. We had just boated 150 kilometers down a river in eastern Russia in a military grade jet boat. Muscovite, also known as mica, is a mineral with very high heat shielding properties, used in building rockets in the Cold War arms race as well as other industrial applications. This was in the late 1990s when optimism of foreign investment in Russia was flourishing. The purpose of our trip was to look at drill rigs and meet management in a company we were going to contract with, to advance scoping work on a Russian mineral deposit which the company I was working for was evaluating. During the course of two years, we made some great technical advances and developed relationships in a part of Russian that reminded me a lot of Alaska. I had always hoped to return to see how those projects had evolved. Today, a few decades later, I fear that visit back to Russia will not happen anytime soon. Natural resource development has often been tied to geopolitical issues throughout human history. Today we are in such a situation again. In the last few months, we have seen increases in geopolitical strife and trade conflicts. As an example, the U.S. has placed increased tariffs on raw materials from China. China is placing export controls on critical material such a germanium and gallium, of which they supply 60 percent and 90 percent of the world’s demands, respectively. These metals are needed for semiconductors, satellites, solar cell applications, fiber optics, and yes, your cell phone. Thus, globally and locally responsible and secure production of natural resources is essential for the world’s growing popuLOOKING AHEAD, RDC WILL CONTINUE ITS PIVOTAL ROLE “Next year, 2025 will be the 50th year of RDC. What will the next 50 years look like and how can we shape that future?” — Lance Miller, Outgoing Board President, RDC Photos Courtesy Lance Miller Russia in the 1990s was a combination of Wild West, leftover Soviet influence and opportunity.
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