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.

Off the coast of Baja California in December 2022, the sun sparkled over the rippling sea as waves lapped across the dock ship USS Portland. Navy officials on deck scanned the sky, in search of an indication. The glow suddenly appeared.

At first a tiny speck, it progressively developed right into a round circle, falling at great speed from the sting of space. It belonged to NASA Orion capsulewhich suggests the 25 day period would soon end Artemis I mission across the moon and beyond with a fiery splash into the ocean.

Orion's reentry followed a steep trajectory that saw the capsule plummet at incredible speeds before releasing three red-and-white parachutes. As the mission accomplished its 270,000-mile (435,000-kilometer) journey, it appeared to those on the deck of the USS Portland that the capsule had arrived in a single piece.

As the recovery team lifted Orion onto the carrier's deck, shock waves rippled across the capsule's surface. That's when crew members discovered large cracks on Orion's underside, where the capsule's exterior connected to its heat shield.

But why would an indication that has withstood temperatures of about 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit (2,760 degrees Celsius) not suffer damage? Seems only natural, right?

This mission, Artemis I, has been aborted. But NASA's ultimate goal is to send people to the moon in 2026. Therefore, NASA needed to be sure that damage to the capsule – even to its heat shield, which is anticipated to take some damage – wouldn’t endanger the lives of a future crew.

On December 11, 2022 – the time of Artemis I's re-entry – this shield suffered severe damage, delaying the following two Artemis missions. While engineers now work to stop the identical problems from occurring again, the brand new launch date is about for April 2026 and is fast approaching.

As Professor of Aerospace EngineeringI like exploring how objects interact with the atmosphere. Artemis I offers a very interesting case – and an argument for why a functioning heat shield is critical to an area exploration mission.

Endure the warmth

To understand what exactly happened to Orion, let's rewind the story again. When the capsule re-entered the Earth's atmosphere, it took off his higher layers fly awaywhich acts a bit like a trampoline, absorbing a few of the kinetic energy of the approaching spacecraft. This maneuver was fastidiously designed to progressively reduce Orion's speed and reduce the warmth stress on the shield's inner layers.

After the primary dive, Orion bounced back into space in a calculated maneuver, losing a few of its energy, before diving again. This second dive would take him to deeper levels with denser air as he approached the ocean, reducing his speed even further.

As it fell, the resistance of air particles against the capsule helped reduce its speed from about 27,000 miles per hour (43,000 kilometers per hour) to about 20 miles per hour (32 km/h). But this slowdown got here at a price: the friction of the air was so great that the temperatures on the underside of the capsule facing the airflow reached 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit (2,760 degrees Celsius).

In these scorching temperatures, the air molecules began to separate and a hot mixture of charged particlesCalled plasma, formed. This plasma radiated energy that may very well be seen as red-yellow ignited air that surrounded the front of the vehicle and enveloped it backwards in the form of a candle.

No material on Earth can withstand this hellish environment without being seriously damaged. That's why the engineers behind these capsules designed a layer of fabric called a heat shield that’s sacrificed by melting and vaporizing, saving the space that may later house astronauts.

The heat shield is a critical component because it protects anyone who might sooner or later be contained in the capsule.

In the shape of a shell, this shield encloses the wide end of the spacecraft that faces the incoming airflow – the most well liked a part of the vehicle. It is fabricated from a cloth designed to evaporate and absorb the energy generated by the friction of the air on the vehicle.

The Orion case

But what really happened to Orion's heat shield during this descent in 2022?

In the case of Orion, the warmth shield material is a composite of a Resin called Novolac – a relative of the Bakelite that some firearms are fabricated from – absorbed right into a honeycomb structure of fiberglass threads.

When the surface is exposed to heat and airflow, the resin melts and retreats, exposing the fiberglass. The fiberglass reacts with the encircling hot air and creates a black structure called carbon. This carbon then acts as a second heat barrier.

NASA used the identical heat shield design for Orion as for the Apollo capsule. But throughout the Apollo missions, the char structure didn’t collapse prefer it did on Orion.

After spending nearly two years analyzing samples of the charred material, From this NASA got here to the conclusion The Orion project team had overestimated the warmth flow because the spacecraft passed through the atmosphere during reentry.

As Orion approached the upper layers of the atmosphere, the shield began to melt and generated gases which could have escaped through pores in the fabric. As the capsule gained altitude again, the outer layers of resin solidified, trapping the warmth of the primary dive inside. This heat vaporized the resin.

The second time the capsule entered the atmosphere, the gas expanded before finding a way out because it warmed up again – a bit like a frozen lake thaws from bottom to top – and his escape caused cracks within the capsule surface where the carbon structure was damaged. These were the cracks the recovery team saw on the capsule after it splashed down.

In a press conference on December 5, 2024, NASA officials announced that the Artemis II mission will probably be designed with a modified reentry trajectory to stop heat buildup.

For Artemis III, scheduled to launch in 2027, NASA wants to make use of recent manufacturing processes for the shield to make it more permeable. The outside of the capsule still gets highly regarded during re-entry and the warmth shield continues to evaporate. But these recent methods will help astronauts feel comfortable within the capsule even throughout the water splashes.

HAYWARD – An 18-year-old Pleasanton man is in critical condition after being shot Thursday night while riding in a automobile with a friend in Hayward, police said Saturday.

The injured 17-year-old boy, also a Pleasanton resident, has since been released from the hospital, police said.

The shooting occurred around 11:11 p.m. Thursday near the intersection of Mission Boulevard and Industrial Parkway.

The two victims were the one ones within the vehicle. Police try to find out why they were in Hayward, Officer Cassondra Fovel said.

After being shot, the 2 were capable of drive to the 100 block of W. Tennyson Road, where the 17-year-old called 911, authorities said.

Both victims were taken to a hospital, where the younger one was treated and released.

The 18-year-old's condition is serious and he remains to be being artificially ventilated, authorities said.

Police try to find out a motive for the shooting. No arrests have been made.

Police say there’s currently no evidence that this shooting and one other that occurred at 2 a.m. Wednesday within the 24000 block of Second Street that left a 15-year-old rodeo boy dead and a 13-year-old injured are connected, but police said it’s under investigation by investigators.

Anyone with details about Thursday night's shooting is asked to call Detective Scinto at 510-293-7176.

Editor of Columbia Law Reviewa prestigious journal published by students of the law faculty of the celebrated university, say the board of the publication called on them on 2 June 2024To Refraining from publishing a critical article about Israel.

After the scholars published the article online the next day, includes faculty members and alumni of Columbia Law Schoolhad the Law Review website shut down.

The board soon gave in and allowed the Website back online on June 6, including the article in query. But there was an announcement He accused the coed editors of not properly reviewing the article before publication.

The student editors have rejected the statements within the board's statement and say they’re “on strike’ – thereby evading a few of their scrutiny obligations – to protest against the panel’s attempts to suppress them.

This dispute has attracted far less attention than the campus protests at Columbia University and tons of of other schools expressing solidarity with the Palestinian people and protesting the varsity's ties to Israel's military operations within the Gaza Strip within the spring of 2024.

But as a scholar of Academic freedom and freedom of expression in higher educationI consider that the controversy is price being attentive to. If, as the scholars claim, there are inappropriate interferences with the scientific independence of considered one of the most influential legal journals within the countryThere are few, if any, precedents for this incident.

Exchange of research leads to legal journals

Student-run law journals, which give a very important opportunity for legal scholars to share their research on legal topics with law professors, judges, lawyers, and other readers, typically have high degree of editorial independence.

If the scholars’ allegations are true, the board generally accepted standards of educational freedom in higher education that students consider critical. Academic freedom is a component of what makes colleges and universities places where latest views and knowledge will be exchanged and accepted ideas will be challenged.

The most Law faculties have not less than one journal with “Law Review” within the name. Some also produce other journals that give attention to specific legal topics, comparable to Training, Civil rights or International issues.

Law journals and other skilled journals are typically published by the law school, although they are frequently student-run, meaning that student editors select the articles to be published and are answerable for the editorial process.

Contributing to a legal journal is taken into account an honor and will be an awesome opportunity for law students in Completion of legal traineeships with judges and jobs at law firms or other employers.

Legal journals are a most significant solution to exchange research results on legal topics by authors comparable to law and other professors, lawyers, and judges. The importance of law journals to legal research signifies that student editors of law journals mustn’t be unduly pressured in deciding to simply accept or reject articles.

The structure of the Columbia Law Review is unusual: it operates as an independent non-profit, independent of the law facultyand is supervised by a board of directors.

Typically, law journals are a part of a law school.

However, like other law journals, Columbia's is run by students attending the university's law school. Also typical is that the articles, written in a proper and academic style, are aimed more at legal professionals than most of the people. In this particular article, there are examples of rarely used words comparable to “instantiation” and “diverse.”

Presentation of a brand new legal framework

Rabea Eghbariaha Palestinian human rights lawyer with a law degree from an Israeli university who’s enrolled in a doctoral program in law at Harvard Law School, wrote the Article on the centre of this dispute.

In it, he proposes a brand new legal framework to label Israel's expulsion and “mistreatment” of the Palestinian people as a criminal offense against humanity comparable to apartheid or genocide.

Harvard Law Review previously commissioned and published an analogous article Before the choice to not publish it.

Fear of backlash The publication of an article critical of Israel was the rationale for the delayed rejection, based on an announcement published in November 2023 by 25 student editors at Harvard University.

It isn’t unusual for law journals to publish articles containing potentially controversial claims. For example, the previous issue of the Columbia Law Review stated: contained an article In it, the writer argued that prisoners who were forced to work as a part of their sentence were treated like slaves.

Centrality of educational freedom

The unrest on campus related to the conflict between Israel and Hamas has raised questions on the proper of scholars to precise their personal views when They take part in campus protests.

Furthermore, this dispute raises questions on the educational freedom of student editors and their right to free expression.

The First amendment clearly protects the proper to free speech for college students attending public colleges and universities. But it applies only to those institutions.

Technically, they’re private institutions – like Columbia University and the associated nonprofit organization that manages the law journal’s funds, but up to now doesn’t try to interfere in decisions on articles – should not sure by the First Amendment to the Constitution.

Nevertheless, most of them Freedom of expression and academic freedom as central elements of their mission.

Academic freedom relies on customs and practices designed to guard the proper of college members to independently pursue their teaching, research, and other skilled responsibilities without undue interference from their employers.

It isn’t entirely clear that Students benefit from the same academic freedom.

However, just about all colleges and universities accept that students must have the proper to precise their very own views and Access to all possible arguments.

The students who edit the Columbia Law Review likely have limited legal recourse to challenge the panel’s actions. Instead, as their Decision to strikeStudents will likely need to make use of strategies, along with legal motion, to display that the panel violated the principles of educational freedom.

The Board of Directors may additionally make its own additional statements in defense of its actions.

Overarching institutional commitments

The dispute over the Columbia Law Review will be seen as a part of ongoing tensions on campus throughout the country due to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

One argument is that prejudice against Palestinians suspended institutional commitments to free expression and academic freedom. A counter view is that pro-Palestinian protests or other efforts, comparable to this text from a legal journal, which the Israeli government describes as “regime,” Are too often marked by anti-Semitism.

Be that as it might, it’s now clear that these tensions should not limited to campus protests. Ultimately, I consider, they might directly challenge institutional commitments to academic freedom and independence in scientific research.