What you need to know about the US-Ukraine minerals deal

DW (English)

After months of tough negotiations, Ukraine and the US have reached a raw‑materials agreement that both sides call historic. Ukraine's mineral wealth includes rare‑earth elements essential for high‑tech products.

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00:01Ukraine is rich in valuable mineral resources.

00:04Experts say the country ranks among the world's top 10 for several of them.

00:09The agreement between the US and Ukraine lists 57 commodities, from aluminium to zinc,

00:14that will be developed jointly, including rare earth metals, essential for many high-tech products.

00:22Oil and gas are also to be extracted together,

00:25and Ukraine has considerable potential in those sectors as well.

00:30Various estimates put about 5% of the world's mineral resources within Ukraine, for example graphite.

00:37According to France's Bureau of Geological and Mining Research,

00:41Ukraine holds roughly 20% of global graphite deposits, a key material for battery production.

00:48Another example is iron.

00:50In 2022, Ukraine was the world's 10th largest iron producer, according to world mining data.

00:57And finally, there's lithium.

00:58Ukraine says it has one of Europe's largest lithium deposits, estimated at 500,000 tons, but not yet developed.

01:07That's according to Volodymyr Landa of the Center for Economic Strategy, a leading Ukrainian think tank.

01:12Currently, lithium is not mined at an industrial level in Ukraine, although the reserves have been identified.

01:23And it is thought that Ukraine may rank second in Europe for this metal.

01:28This is not a large share of global reserves, but for diversifying supply, especially since so much lithium is in China,

01:36It is a very important and strategic point.

01:44The biggest obstacle is not the lack of extraction infrastructure, but Russia's war of aggression.

01:50Russian forces currently occupy about 20% of Ukrainian territory, mainly in the east.

01:57Estimates by the WeBuild Ukraine think tank and the National Institute for Strategic Studies

02:02indicate that roughly 40% of Ukraine's metal resources are now under Russian control.

02:08The European Unionijn names close to the United States are slow.

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