Ukraine has 10,000 rare earth deposits with 95 different types of valuable minerals

The United States and Ukraine have signed the agreement that will allow the joint exploitation of Ukrainian minerals. This agreement is key to the future of war in Ukraine and the negotiations promoted by Donald Trump to achieve a peace agreement in that country after the Russian invasion.

By Infobae

«This agreement clearly demonstrates to Russia that the Trump administration is committed to a peace process focused on a free, sovereign and prosperous Ukraine in the long term,» the Treasury Secretary Scott Besent said in the statement after the firm.

He also said that this alliance «demonstrates the commitment of both parties with the lasting peace and prosperity in Ukraine.» «And, so that it is clear, no state or person who financed or supplied to the Russian war machine can benefit from the reconstruction of Ukraine,» he concluded.

What Ukraine has that interests the US so much

In the subsoil of Ukraine there are about 10,000 deposits with 95 different types of minerals with commercial value, according to the Inventory of Mineral Reserves of Ukraine. Before the war were in production 3,055 deposits.

In total, including those that are not exploited, Ukraine has 5% of the world’s mineral resources and occupies the number 40 among mineral producers in all categories, according to the 2024 edition of World Mining Data.

It is also a key potential supplier of minerals such as titanium, lithium, beryllium, manganese, gallium, uranium, zirconium, graphite, apatite, fluorite and nickel, according to data from the NATO Energy Security Center.

All of them play a key role in the manufacture of a wide variety of technological products, from semiconductors for defense systems to solar panels and batteries for electric vehicles.

According to the US Chamber of Commerce and the kyiv School of Economics, the occupied Ukraine regions contain 42% of the country’s metals, 33% of their rare earths, 63% of coal deposits or 20% of gas deposits.

The value of minerals located in the Ukraine parts occupied by Russia is at least 12.4 billion dollars, an amount that is almost 50% of the value of all Ukraine reserves.

The experts expect the lithium demand to increase the next decades more than forty times, and that of graphite, cobalt and nickel rises more than twenty times.

The country also has large reserves from other minerals, such as iron and high quality manganese, which are fundamental for the production of ecological steel, and important non -ferrous metal deposits such as copper (Europe in Europe), lead (fifth), zinc (sixth) and silver (ninth) in Europe.

USA, interested in reducing China dependence

Ukraine mineral reserves are relevant for the US and other G7 countries to reduce their dependence on China, but this will not occur in the short or medium term due to logistics on the land, says a study published this week by the Unicredit financial entity.

In addition, it takes an average of 18 years to develop a mine and costs 500 million dollars to build it and $ 1 billion to stand a separation plant; And it must be borne in mind that war has substantially reduced the workforce in Ukraine.

The leading producer of 33 of the 51 vital mineral resources for the economy of the 21st century, which frequently represent more than 50% of global production. It also controls 75% of rare earth reserves in the world.

The dependence of these minerals became evident when the Chinese government decided to stop exports of some rare earths to the US in response to tariffs, according to Unicredit.

The Asian giant is also the largest buyer of these materials and is responsible for 70% of world production.

China’s US dependence is greater than that of the European Union (EU), according to the US Geological Service.

72% of US rare land imports come from China, 11% of Malaysia, 6% of Japan and the rest of other countries.