Mapping Ukraine’s uncommon earth and important minerals

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is about to signal a cope with US President Donald Trump on Friday that will permit the US entry to the Jap European nation’s huge reserves of vital and uncommon earth mineral deposits.

Zelenskyy has already agreed to the preliminary phrases of the deal, which Trump mentioned is geared toward serving to US taxpayers recoup support despatched to Ukraine through the warfare with Russia, which launched a full-fledged invasion in February 2022.

After the deal is signed, each events will start negotiations on a Reconstruction Funding Fund to find out how assets can be allotted.

What are the identified deal phrases?

The deal outlines a proposal for the US and Ukraine to develop a plan to utilise future revenues from Ukraine’s uncommon earth and important minerals reserves, in addition to its oil and gasoline sector.

• A Reconstruction Funding Fund can be created – its goal is to make use of revenues generated from Ukraine’s pure assets to reinvest again into Ukraine for reconstruction, additional improvement tasks, infrastructure and state-owned enterprises.
• Ukraine will contribute 50 p.c of revenues from state-owned assets to the joint fund.
• It’s unclear the place the remaining 50 p.c will come from, and the way a lot management the US will wield over the fund.
• The US will decide to supporting Ukraine’s long-term financial stability and prosperity.
• The US will assist Ukraine’s efforts to safe lasting peace however provide no direct safety ensures.

How a lot support has the US despatched to Ukraine?

President Trump had beforehand demanded a proper to $500bn in potential revenues from utilizing Ukraine’s pure assets to compensate for US army support and assist Kyiv has obtained. Zelenskyy has pushed again, arguing that precise US support to Ukraine is way much less.

Based on the Kiel Institute for the World Economic system, which tracks army, monetary and humanitarian support to Ukraine for the reason that warfare started, the US has donated 114 billion euros ($118bn).

Nonetheless, the US Division of Protection places the determine greater at almost $183bn, which incorporates the price of replenishing Ukraine’s defence shares.

What minerals does Ukraine have?

Based on information from Ukraine’s Economic system Ministry, the nation holds deposits of twenty-two out of the 34 minerals categorized as vital by the EU.

Ukraine additionally holds reserves of uncommon earth components (REEs), a bunch of 17 metallic minerals important for high-tech purposes in electronics, defence, aerospace and renewable power, together with lanthanum, cerium and neodymium.

Based on the United Nations’ Russian-language information service, Ukraine’s vital mineral reserves made up roughly 5 p.c of the worldwide provide as of 2022.

Its vital minerals embrace treasured and non-ferrous metals, ferroalloys and minerals equivalent to titanium, zirconium, graphite and lithium.

Ukraine accounts for 7 p.c of the worldwide manufacturing of titanium.

Its lithium reserves are largely untapped and regarded considered one of Europe’s largest, at an estimated 500,000 tonnes.

The place precisely are these minerals?

Based on the Middle for Worldwide Relations and Sustainable Improvement (CIRSD), a public coverage assume tank registered in Belgrade and New York, previous to the 2022 Russian invasion, Ukraine had registered 20,000 mineral deposits, with 8,700 of them confirmed, encompassing 117 of the 120 most globally used metals and minerals.

The nation has among the world’s high recoverable coal, gasoline, iron, manganese, nickel, ore, titanium, and uranium reserves.

Most of those minerals span Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporzhizhia, Dnipropetrovsk, Korovohrad, Poltava and Kharkiv.

Russia, which controls roughly 20 p.c of Ukraine, together with massive elements of Luhansk, Donetsk and Zaporizhia, is sitting on about 40 p.c of Ukraine’s metallic assets in keeping with estimates by Ukrainian assume tanks We Construct Ukraine and the Nationwide Institute of Strategic Research, stories the Reuters information company.

Ukraine has mentioned that a good portion of its uncommon earth components are positioned within the Donetsk and Luhansk areas. The Shevchenko Discipline of Lithium Ores, considered one of Ukraine’s largest lithium deposits, is positioned in a rural settlement in Donetsk.

How a lot pure useful resource wealth does Ukraine have?

Based on Ukraine Make investments, the Ukrainian authorities’s funding promotion workplace, it possesses vital pure wealth in mineral assets price trillions of {dollars}.

The areas with the best pure useful resource wealth are positioned within the east of the nation, primarily underneath Russian management.

The lack of entry to those assets has not solely impacted Ukraine’s economic system but additionally disrupted world provide chains, notably in high-tech and defence sectors.

Regardless of the continued warfare, Ukraine Make investments stories that the mining sector stays a vital a part of the economic system, with ongoing manufacturing in safer areas and rising worldwide curiosity in securing long-term funding alternatives.

Who has probably the most uncommon earth minerals on the planet?

The international locations with the biggest uncommon earth mineral reserves are ranked beneath based mostly on their estimated reserves in keeping with the US Geological Survey’s Mineral Commodity Summaries 2025:

• China – 44 million metric tonnes (mt; 1mt is the same as 1,000 kilogrammes). It additionally controls about 70 p.c of world uncommon earth mineral processing
• Brazil – 21 million mt
• India – 6.9 million mt
• Australia – 5.7 million mt
• Russia – 3.8 million mt
• Vietnam – 3.5 million mt
• United States – 1.9 million mt
• Greenland – 1.5 million mt
• Tanzania – 890,000mt
• South Africa – 860,000mt
• Canada – 830,000mt
• Thailand – 4,500mt