What are the minerals that Tramp is really interested in and why is it beneficial for us?

Trump stated that in order to receive further aid from the US, Ukraine should provide access to rare earth minerals. These are the ones that are used in electronic devices, ignition mixtures, nuclear equipment, as well as catalysts.

«Global production of rare earth elements (scandium, yttrium, lanthanum, and lanthanide elements) amounts to only 354,000 tons, of which 68% comes from China, 12% from the USA, and 5% from Australia.

Reserves of these elements are estimated at 110 million tons, of which 44 million tons are in China, 22 million tons in Vietnam, 21 million tons in Brazil, 7 million tons in India, 6 million tons in Australia, and 10 million tons in other countries,» says Volodymyr Landa, senior economist at the Center for Economic Strategy.

Ukraine has very limited deposits of certain rare earth elements. It is known that some of them are located in temporarily occupied territories, but accurate data on these elements constitute a state secret.

Therefore, other strategic minerals, reserves of which Ukraine has, are of real interest to foreign investors. First of all, it concerns titanium (used in mechanical engineering and the production of paints and plastics), lithium (rechargeable batteries, glass, ceramics) and nickel.

Titanium

Ukraine has about 1% of the world’s reserves (8 million tons) and before the full-scale invasion provided 6-7% of the world’s titanium ore mining and production of titanium concentrates. According to the USGS, in 2024 Ukraine significantly reduced titanium production – to 120 thousand tons of ilmenite and 10 thousand tons of rutile concentrate. The largest titanium producer in Ukraine, the United Mining and Chemical Company (UMCC-Titanuim) was privatized in 2024 for almost 4 billion UAH.

Lithium

Officially, lithium reserves constitute a state secret, unofficially they are estimated at 500 thousand tons. This is less than 2% of world reserves, but significant deposits by European standards. Ukrainian reserves are often considered the second largest in Europe after Germany. The Kruta Balka deposit is under occupation, the Shevchenkivske deposit is on the front line, other deposits are located in the relatively safe Kirovohrad region.

Ukraine has not yet mined lithium.

Nickel and cobalt

Confirmed nickel reserves in Ukraine are estimated at 215 thousand tons – with global reserves of 58 million tons. In addition, nickel ores contain cobalt, of which Ukraine has, according to various estimates, up to 100 thousand tons, or slightly less than 1% of world reserves.

These metals are considered critical raw materials and are of great interest to the industry of both the USA and the EU.

Attracting foreign investors to the development of critically important minerals will allow Ukraine to integrate into production chains.

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