With the US-Ukraine mineral deal potentially resurrected, what natural resources of the Eastern European nation will Washington consider?
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| Ukraine is among the 10 countries with the largest titanium reserves in the world. (Source: inventure) |
On March 3, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed his readiness to sign a mineral agreement with the United States in a press interview after the European Summit on Ukraine held in London (UK).
“Our policy is to continue what was done before, and Ukraine has a constructive position. If we agree on the mineral agreement, we are ready to sign it. The document will be adopted if all parties are ready,” Zelensky said.
This raises hopes of a possible revival of the US-Ukraine mineral deal, which had previously seemed to have reached a dead end after a tense argument between Mr. Zelensky and US President Donald Trump on February 28 at the White House.
Ukraine has been described by the World Economic Forum (WEF) as “a potentially important supplier of rare earth metals” as it is believed to hold around 5% of global rare earth metal reserves. Rare earths are metallic elements in the lanthanoid group classified as “critical raw materials” by the European Union (EU).
Robert Muggah, director of geopolitical risk consultancy SecDev, said that Ukraine holds many important minerals that the US is interested in. However, the expert said that "the scale of important minerals that can be exploited in Ukraine is likely to be greatly exaggerated."
Director Robert Muggah also co-authored a report by the Center for International Relations and Sustainable Development (CIRSD), a public policy research group based in Belgrade, Serbia, and New York, USA, that pointed out that the majority of the Eastern European country's mineral resources are located in the "Ukrainian Shield", which stretches across the territories of Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhya, and Dnipropetrovsk. However, most of these areas are currently under Russian control.
On the other hand, the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) notes that the conflict has devastated Ukraine’s critical infrastructure, including nearly half of the country’s electricity generation capacity. Meanwhile, the mining industry is energy-intensive, so mining deals face significant obstacles as companies hesitate to invest given the ongoing security risks.
With the US-Ukraine minerals deal potentially resurrected, here are five key minerals that could be included in the deal:
Titanium
China is the world's largest producer of titanium, but Ukraine is among the world's top 10 titanium reserves and accounts for 7% of global production. Other major titanium suppliers include Russia, Mozambique, Australia and Canada.
Titanium’s high strength-to-weight ratio and heat resistance make it important to the aerospace industry. For example, titanium is used in the bulkheads and engine components of the F-35 fighter jet to withstand the high temperatures generated during supersonic flight. In the 1960s, the US used titanium to build the SR-71 spy plane.
Before the conflict with Russia, Ukraine was a major supplier of titanium to the military sectors of many countries.
According to the Kyiv Post , in 2023, Ukraine sold its largest titanium producer to a private company that operates two large titanium mines in Dnipropetrovsk and Zhytomyr.
Lithium
Chile, Australia and China are the world's leading producers of lithium, a metal vital to the high-tech lithium-ion batteries used in everything from smartphones to electric cars. Lithium is also used to make ceramics, glass, alloys and, most importantly, batteries.
Ukraine is believed to hold one of Europe’s largest lithium reserves, estimated at around 500,000 tonnes, or around 3% of the world’s total. However, none of Ukraine’s lithium ore mines are currently being exploited, as this would require hundreds of millions of dollars in investment.
About 25% of Ukraine's lithium reserves are located in areas currently controlled by Russia and the conflict has prevented further investment in mining, expert Robert Muggah stressed.
Ukraine's lithium reserves are found in petalite ore, a material that is more complex and expensive to mine than spodumene (the main ore used by lithium producers). Extracting lithium from petalite ore is a high-tech and capital-intensive process, according to the Anti-Corruption Action Center of Ukraine.
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| Ukrainian servicemen walk past a destroyed fuel station in Stoyanka, March 31, 2022. The conflict has made it difficult to operate mineral mines in the country. (Source: Getty Images) |
Graphite
Ukraine is believed to hold one of the world's largest graphite deposits, although its output is tiny, contributing just 0.5% of global output in 2020.
Graphite is a key material in steel production and is used for things like brake pads, gaskets and clutches in the automotive industry.
Nickel and cobalt
Nickel, a silvery-white metal used in alloys such as stainless steel, plays a key role in the production of batteries, jet engines and a host of other commercial and industrial applications.
Nickel and cobalt are often found together in mining. Both cobalt and lithium are needed for electric vehicle manufacturing.
Indonesia, Russia and Australia are the leading nickel producers. In 2022, Ukraine ranked 69th in cobalt production, with exports of the metal worth $41,400.
Ukraine’s mineral reserves are significant but largely untapped. In the context of ongoing conflict with significant impacts on infrastructure, securing long-term investment in these critical minerals remains a challenge. However, with the ability to supply critical minerals to the US and Europe through agreements, Ukraine’s resources could play a significant role in global industrial markets in the coming years.
Source: https://baoquocte.vn/nhung-khoang-san-quy-ma-ukraine-nam-giu-de-lay-chuyen-my-quay-xe-tro-lai-thoa-thuan-306175.html
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