The Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (Brics) countries are “richly endowed in mineral resources” and as such, are in a relatively good position to cater to the demands of the global economy, Russia’s Federal Agency of Minerals Resources head Dr Evgenii Petrov told delegates at the 2022 Council for Geoscience Summit on October 26.

He noted that the Brics countries accounted for a significant portion of the planet’s mineral wealth and, together with other extractive countries, formed part of the supply chain of raw materials and high-margin value-added goods.

He stated that efforts should be made to increase the success of the mining sector in Brics countries through value addition, to attract investment and boost investor confidence, and called for a more thorough understanding of the “enhancement strategies” that mineral-producing nations could realise through technology, innovation and capacity building.

However, he stressed that “unity is key to realising these efforts”. 

He presented the example of South Africa, which he described as possessing “a unique endowment in respect of platinum-group metals, gold and diamonds” and Russia, with its “extensive experience in developing a variety of mines and oilfields onshore and offshore”, commenting that technology and knowledge exchange between the two would be mutually beneficial.

He also highlighted potential fields of cooperation between the Russian Federation and South Africa, including regional geology, geological research and prospecting both onshore and offshore, digitalisation of mineral resources management, harmonisation of resources classifications systems, technology development in response to geology, seismicity, data collection and interpretation, field trips and “joint projects”.

“The world is changing around us, driven by the United Nations Agenda 2030, the Paris Climate Agreement, the energy transition and the global technology revolution. To meet the demand of the changing markets there is an urgent need to transform attitudes to the geosciences and geology policies by incorporating new technologies and innovative approaches.”

He presented a ‘Geology Cooperation Concept’ draft, noting the opportunity to launch regular cooperation among the geological agencies of the Brics nations. He proposed five areas of cooperation, namely: practical experience sharing; technology and know-how transfer; digital management of mineral resources; resources classification; underground water and carbon capture, utilisation and storage.

The draft also included a suggestion for a Brics Geology Platform, which was described as an “integrated platform of concerned stakeholders, including government officials, geology institutions, geologists, researchers and companies”.