Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy is set to meet with the US President Donald Trump to finalise a critical minerals agreement. The deal is aimed at securing continued US support in Ukraine’s conflict with Russia. The proposal has not only inclined as a rare earths deal but also extended to include “deposits of minerals, hydrocarbons, oil, and gas,” reflecting a growing trend where nations extract their underground wealth for geological purposes.
On the other hand, monetising these resources is way more complex in reality. In fact, Ukraine does have reserves of critical metals such as Titanium and Lithium. However, the country lacks the cornerstones of extraction, which are: infrastructure and processing capabilities needed to refine them efficiently.
Roads, power, and technology, resources, Ukraine is currently lacking after years of war, which are significant for a successful mining operation. Additionally, China dominates global critical mineral supply chains, especially in mid-stream processing. Which makes it quite challenging for the other countries to attain.
The Challenge of Rare Earths
Ukraine’s rare earth deposits remain unproven despite the hype. The current data of the top producers or reserves holders date back to the soviet times. Thus, the US Geological Survey doesn’t rank Ukraine among them. Even if it is feasible, deposits are confirmed, and it would take years, if not decades, for those metals to be extracted or processed.
The rise of metal politics is the broader shift that this mineral deal underscores. The demand for critical metals, from Cobalt in batteries to rare earths in electronics, is elevating as technology evolves. The west is struggling to reduce dependence on China, which controls the majority of the global supply chain. However, building alternative supply chains is not an easy task.
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