Washington-SANA
The crisis in Ukraine revealed Europe's great dependence on the Russian railway network, as a major artery for transporting necessary resources coming from China and involved in many industries, including weapons and electronic chips, according to the American Fortune magazine.
The magazine made it clear that Russia is located at the center of the railway transport route, which provides the West with fixed resources of minerals needed for the manufacture of electronics, electronic chips and ammunition used in modern weapons, noting that most of the so-called “rare earth minerals” come from China and are transported through the Russian railway network, Without it, there are no advanced weapons industries in Europe.
The amount of these minerals that are transported on trains from China via Russia to the old continent rose to 36,074 tons in the first nine months of last year, which is double the amount recorded in 2021, according to European Union data.
The value of this trade also rose to 377 million euros last September, confirming, according to the founder of the Norge Mining Company in Norway, “Michael Worsmer,” the importance of these transported minerals, including titanium and vanadium, and the extent of Europe’s dependence on them.
Fortune magazine indicated that the proportion of Europe's imports of rare earth minerals that are mined in China exceeds 90 percent, and the latest European data show that Russian railways are still bustling with activity in transport operations to Europe, as the Russian rail freight path remains crucial for European industries.
Last July, the European Union published a guide showing goods coming to the European bloc via railways without being subject to the sanctions imposed against Moscow, under the pretext of the Ukraine crisis.
Rare metals such as lanthanum are widely used in the production of European weapons and ammunition, and most of the European demand centers on the heavy metal tungsten, which is used in the manufacture of anti-tank weapons. According to Fortune magazine, transportation via Russian railways shortens many days compared to sea transportation.
The magazine indicated that any obstruction of access to tungsten mining mines in China, whose production exceeds more than 83 percent of global production, will leave Western economies in a fragile and weak position, as this mineral represents a basis in various industries and productions from batteries to electronic chips and others.
Basma Kannon
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