It is signed. kyiv and Washington agreed on Wednesday, April 30 on the exploitation of Ukrainian basement, in exchange for US protection. An agreement signed by the American Secretary of the Treasury Scott Besent and the Minister of the Ukraine Economy Iulia Svydenko.
“This economic association puts our two countries in a position to collaborate and invest to ensure that our assets, talents and capacities can accelerate the economic reconstruction of Ukraine,” said the press release after the firm.
An investment fund for the reconstruction of the country will be created. At the same time, according to the Reuters, the United States will have preferential access for new contracts on the natural wealth of Ukraine, including minerals, but also hydrocarbons. Without, however, of a systematic nature, specifies Reuters.
As part of this agreement, Washington was initially reimbursed by aid granted with respect to Kyiv (approximately 120 billion dollars) recovering goods.
The agreement no longer seems to contain the initial requirements of Washington, namely, recover the equivalent of $ 500 million in profits, but will materialize in a fund that allows the two countries to jointly administer the exploitation of minerals and fossils in the country. “50% of profits and rates [reviendront, ndlr] To the Ukrainian State on new permits to operate natural resources in Ukraine, “said Reuters.
The text, on the contrary, would lead to the mention of a Ukrainian put in security, but without the obligation to leave US troops in the place, or concrete elements.
A theoretically very rich subsoil
To understand what the Ukrainian lands contain, it is first necessary to distinguish: the “rare earths” are first a group of 17 minerals whose characteristic is to be impossible to replace in industrial processes. They include Scandio, Cerio, Prastodimia, Neodimio, Erbium or Lutecium.
These minerals are not necessarily rare, despite their name: the hill, for example, is more present on the surface of the earth than copper. But its strong diffusion makes it difficult for industrial exploitation.
Critical minerals, integrate these “rare earths” and add other metals to more diverse uses. The United States Geological Service, American Geological Agency, counting 50, including cobalt, nickel, lithium – metals necessary for majority batteries, or aluminum, graphite or titanium. Europe counts 34.
Ukraine has for some of these significant reserve metals, as evidenced by this card:
Of the 34 metals defined as critics by the EU, Ukraine would have 22. The World Economic Forum evokes 20,000 deposits, gathering in the 116 different types of metals. Among the most present metals, titanium, from which kyiv can claim the largest reserves in Europe (about 7% of world reserves). Titanium plays a crucial role in the military field, in aeronautics in particular.
Another omnipresent metals, beryllium and uranium, of which Kyiv claims significant reserves. They are used in the nuclear field, in particular. The country also mentions very high iron and manganese reserves, which are crucial for steel production. Ukraine thus exported 43% of the steel leaves consumed by the EU in 2021.
Graphite is present abundantly: this mineral is essential for batteries and nuclear reactors. Kyiv would have 20% of world reserves. Other metals are very present: Ukraine would be the fifth world producer of Gallium, essential for semiconductors and LED, and was a large neon gas producer, which provides 90 % of the purified neon necessary for the flea industry.
The geological state service finally declared that Ukraine has one of the largest confirmed reserves in Europe in terms of lithium. It is estimated at 500,000 metric tons. A necessary metal for batteries, in particular.
Non -reliable data and inaccessible deposits
But despite this list, the richness of the Ukrainian subsoil should not materialize immediately for the Trump administration: the deposits are, in the first place, small exploited. Ukraine has “reservations”, whose quantification is approximate and does not do justice to the possible difficulty of extracting them.
Test: Only 15% of the known deposits were studied or operated in 2021. According to sources from the Ukrainian government, they exploit the Newpopoltavske deposit, near Zaporijjia – phosphate, niobio, tantale, uranium, rare earth – would require $ 300 million in investment. Therefore, amounts to put on the table to extract metals could be considerable.
This deposit is the only one that has received concrete evidence of its reserves, most frequently estimated by the Ukrainian authorities, based on evidence led by the Soviet Union: many deposits could be subject to descriptions dated or even false. It is also the only one that has a license that allows the arrival of foreign investors, capable of developing it.
In a strange way, Ukraine classified the exact data on its mineral resources after the beginning of the war. This, although these data had been transmitted to Russia, since again, geological studies were mostly carried out before 1991.
Finally, one last element makes less promising than the Ukrainian metals seem to be: many deposits are found in the east of the country, in areas near the front (the Chevtchenkivske tank, cited by its lithium, is 10 km from the front line) or even in occupied territory, as well as the case of Novopoltavske. And the Kremlin obviously excludes for the moment to return these territories to Kyiv.
Source: BFM TV
