Mineral and Raw Materials Base of the Ural Federal District: On the Way to a Sustainable Subsoil Use (Using Solid Commercial Minerals as an Example)

Abstract

Relevance. The process of sustainable use of mineral resources, which is one of the priority areas of both rehabilitation, extraction of natural resources, and the state policy in the field of national security, is of particular importance. Currently, the state regulation of subsoil use faces a number of pressing problems: first, the process of recovering the exhaustible resources of solid commercial minerals (SCM) is hampered; secondly, penetration the sixth techno-economic paradigm and the growing "fourth industrial revolution" dictate their terms for organizing a sustainable subsoil use, which implies achieving a balance of common development factors (resource, "green", social, economic ones) using high technologies, artificial intelligence devices, robotics and other innovative solutions. In order to implement sustainable subsoil use at the regional and country levels, it is necessary to diagnose the state of the mineral resources base (MRB). This evaluation can become a functional tool for state regulation of subsoil use. Purpose of the work is to analyze the state of the mineral resource base of the subsoil use of the Ural Federal District (UFD) from the point of view of fulfilling the condition of balance (security). Results. The basic principle is defined-the condition for achieving a balance of subsoil use; peculiarities and problems in the management of subsoil use of the Ural Federal District on the basis of the analysis of the Ural Federal District and the system for financing geological exploration in the UFD; some possible directions for meeting the condition for achieving a balance are identified. Conclusion. The exhaustion of the region's MRB of SCM and the priority of the extraction of fuel and energy raw materials contribute to a reduction in federal funding for the development of the MRB of SCM of the Ural Federal District. The subsoil users of the region are provided with reserves, to some extent, and they are not interested in carrying out further prospecting works. The foregoing demonstrates the need to develop and implement some balanced solutions for further stage of geological study of the MRB of SCM in the framework of public private partnerships using industry regulation mechanisms to achieve a sustainable supply of producers with their own raw materials.