US Ukraine deal emphasizes the abundance of critical minerals in Ukraine, but extracting is not so easy

The mineral assets of Ukraine was one Key factor in the negotiations With the United States, since the two countries carry out details for a ceasefire agreement in the Ukraine war with Russia.

After a rocky start for these negotiations from the USA and Ukraine terminated an agreement On March 11, 2025. with some conditionsAnd both agreed to work on a “comprehensive agreement on the development of the critical mineral resources of Ukraine to expand the economy of Ukraine and to ensure the long -term security of Ukraine”.

The first announcement of the Ukrainian government included that critical minerals also “compensate for the costs of American support”, but this line was removed from the joint announcement. The next step would be to get Russia to agree with an armistice.

There is no doubt that Ukraine has a wealth of critical minerals or that these resources will be essential for reconstruction after the war. But what exactly do these resources include and how plentiful and accessible are they?

The war has severely restricted access to data on the natural resources of Ukraine. However, as a Geoscientist With the experience in resource evaluation, I have read technical reports, many of which behind Paywalls to understand what is up to. We know the following.

Ukraine Minerals Fuel Industries and Militars

Ukraine’s mineral resources concentrate on Two geological provinces. The larger of these, known as the Ukrainian shield, is a large belt that leads through the center of the country from the northwest to southeast. It consists of very old, metamorphic and granite rocks.

A billion -year history of the fault movement and the volcanic activity led to a variety of minerals that focused on local locations and in some larger regions.

A second province near the Ukrainian border with Russia in the east comprises a Rift basin, which is known as a Dnipro donets depression. It is filled with sediment stones that contain coal, oil and natural gas.

Before Independence of Ukraine In 1991, both areas provided the Soviet Union with materials for their industrialization and military. In the southeast, a massive industrial area grew that focused on steel production, where iron, manganese and coal are particularly abundant.

In the 2000s the Ukraine A was significant producer and exporter of this and other minerals. It too Mines uraniumused for nuclear energy.

In addition, Soviet and Ukrainian geoscientists identified deposits of lithium and rare earth metals that remain undeveloped.

However, technical reports indicate that evaluations of this and some other critical minerals Outdated geological dataThe A significant number of mines is inactive Because of the war and so many people deal older, inefficient technology.

This indicates that critical mineral production could be increased from foreign investments through peace times and that these minerals could still offer a higher value than today, whoever controls them.

Why the United States is so interested

Critical minerals Are defined as resources that are essential for economic or national security and are subject to the supply risks. This includes minerals used in military devices, computers, batteries and many other products.

A List of 50 critical mineralsCreated with the US Geological Survey shows that there are more than a dozen of the USA in Ukraine.

Much of it is located in the Ukrainian sign, and around 20% of the total possible reserves of Ukraine are located in areas that are currently occupied by the Russian armed forces.

Critical minerals Ukraine currently mines

Three critical minerals that are particularly abundant in Ukraine are manganese, titanium and graphite. Between 80% and 100% of the US demand for each of these is currently comes from foreign imports..

Manganese is an essential element for steel production and the batteries. It is estimated that Ukraine has the largest total reserves in the world with 2.4 billion tons. However, the deposits are of a fairly low grade – only 11% to 35% of the mined rock are manganese. Therefore, it usually requires a lot of material and expensive workmanship, which increases the total costs.

This also applies to graphite that is used in battery electrodes and A variety of industrial applications. Graphite occurs in ore bodies in the southern center and northwestern part of the Ukrainian shield. At least six deposits were identified there, with a total of 343 million tons of ore identifying 18.6 million tons of actual graphite. It is the largest source in Europe and that Fifth largest worldwide.

Titanium, a key metal for aerospace, ship and rocket technology, is available at up to 28 locations in Ukraine, both in hard rock and sand or gravel deposits. The size of the total reserve is confidential, but are estimates often in hundreds of millions of tons.

However, a number of other critical minerals used in semiconductor and battery technologies are less present in Ukraine, but are also valuable. Zinc appears in deposits with other metals such as lead, gold, silver and copper. Gallium and Germanium are by -products from other ores – zinc for gallium, coal for Germanium. Nickel and cobalt can be found in Ultramafic Rock, whereby Nickel is rich.

At the beginning of 2025, no figures were available for the reserves of these elements of Ukraine, with the exception of zinc, the reserves of which were estimated at around 6.1 million tons, which brought Ukraine to the top 10 nations.

Critical minerals that are not yet dismantled –

Geologists have potentially identified significant volumes in Ukraine of three other types of critical minerals that are important for energy, military and other uses: lithium, rare -dated metals and scandium.

None of them had been dismantled there in early 2025, although a lithium deposit was licensed For commercial extraction.

The greatest potential lithium reserves exist at three locations in the southern centers and southeastern Ukrainian shield, where ore quality is considered moderate to good. How much lithium these reserves keep remains confidential, but technical reports indicate that it lies in the order of 160 million tons and 1.6 million to 3 million tons of lithium oxide. If most of it could be restored in a profitable way, Ukraine would bring this to the top 5 nations for lithium.

Smaller volumes of Tantal and NiobThese reserves were also identified in steel alloys and technology. Most of the Ukrainian lithium appear as a petalite, which, in contrast to the other main lithium -Mineral, requires more expensive processing.

It is known that rare elements exist in Ukraine At several locations of the volcanic origin and in connection with uranium in the southern central part of the Ukrainian shield. These have not been developed, although the sampling at some locations has reported commercial potential, while other locations appear less viable.

Rare earth elements that are available in different quantities in these areas according to superior magnets and electronics – neodymium, praseodym, terbium and dyprosium. Other critical minerals are associated with these deposits, especially zirconium, tantalum and niob, in indefinite, but potentially significant amounts.

Finally, Scandium, which is used in aluminum alloys for aerospace components, was identified as a by-product of the processing of titanism. The Scandium of Ukraine does not seem to have been examined in detail in order to evaluate its commercial potential. However, world production, about 30 to 40 tons per year, is Forecast to grow quickly.

Mineral future of Ukraine

It is clear that Ukraine is equipped with valuable resources. However, the extraction requires roads and railways for access, infrastructure such as electricity and mining and processing technology, investments, technical expertise, environmental considerations and, above all, the termination of military conflicts.

These are the real determinants of the future promotion of Ukraine.