The Innoprom-2026 International industrial exhibition, the country's main industrial exhibition, has opened in Yekaterinburg. The forum is attended by Artyom Kuksa, First Deputy Minister of Arctic Development and Economy of the Murmansk Region, who presented the industrial potential of the region at the specialized session "Rare Earths – sparks of the future for Industry" with a focus on key mining and processing projects.
The session was moderated by Mikhail Yurin, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation.
Artyom Kuksa spoke about the existing projects that are being implemented in the Murmansk region, as well as about the availability of promising deposits. He stressed that the extraction of raw materials is one of the stages of a larger task. The key direction is to create a complete production chain in the field of rare earth metals: from extraction and processing to the production of final products. The Murmansk Region is one of the main raw material centers of the country, Artyom Kuksa noted in his speech.
"The role of the Murmansk Region in the Russian mineral resource complex is of a strategic nature. The comprehensive development of the Alluive, Afrikandovskoye, Fedorova Tundra, Kulyok, Polmostundrovskoye and Kolmozerskoye deposits is the most important step towards achieving raw material sovereignty for lithium, niobium, tantalum and platinum group metals. These projects will not only strengthen Russia's position in the global strategic metals market and become a driver for the development of high–tech industries, but will also create thousands of jobs and attract large-scale investments into the economy," said Artem Kuksa.
During the discussion, special attention was paid to the initiative to create a metallurgical industrial cluster in the Murmansk region for processing resources, in particular, rare earth metals. Artyom Kuksa said that this initiative was previously discussed at a meeting of the State Council of the Russian Federation commission on the Northern Sea Route and the Arctic under the leadership of the Governor of the Murmansk Region Andrey Chibis within the framework of the SPIEF and is considered as a possible new economic growth point within the framework of the emerging integrated project for the development of the Arctic and the Transarctic transport corridor.
During the discussion, Mikhail Yurin, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation, asked how the region is ready to support investors. Artyom Kuksa spoke about existing business support measures, including tax incentives and investment project support, and stressed that the Murmansk Region is ready to provide investors with comprehensive support and is interested in implementing projects aimed at developing deep processing and creating new production chains.
The Innoprom Forum and Exhibition is Russia's largest international industrial exhibition and business venue. The platform brings together authorities, experts and businesses to build long-term partnerships, including with international partner countries.
/ Murmansk Region Development Corporation /
Photo: official website of INNOPROM Yekaterinburg - 2026