China's rare earth dominance challenged by US‑Ukraine pact
The value of valuable resources in Ukraine is estimated at $15 trillion, said Andrzej Jagielski, an expert from the State Geological Institute, to PAP. According to him, gaining access to Ukrainian deposits would allow the United States to challenge China's dominance in this area.
President Donald Trump announced that on Friday, he expects a visit from Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House, during which an agreement on the extraction of rare earth metals in Ukraine is to be signed.
As indicated by the country's Prime Minister, Denys Shmyhal, the final version of the agreement is to be approved by the Ukrainian government on Wednesday. According to the Ukrainian Prime Minister, the agreement stipulates that a special investment fund will be created between the United States and Ukraine, to which Ukraine would contribute 50% of the revenues from the "future monetization" of state mineral resources, including oil and gas, and related logistics.
What is in Ukrainian lands?
According to an expert from the Polish Geological Institute, Ukraine currently has some of the largest reserves of critical raw materials in Europe, which are essential for developing space, defence, and energy technologies. The country is one of the ten largest holders of documented titanium deposits, and when it comes to lithium, Ukraine has one-third of Europe's resources. In addition, the country possesses significant amounts of tantalum, niobium, beryllium, cobalt, nickel, and graphite. The value of valuable resources (not just rare earths) is estimated at $15 trillion.
- The utilization of these resources by humanity means a tremendous leap in civilizational development, which can be compared to the transition from the Stone Age to the Iron Age - said Andrzej Jagielski. He added that countries with access to these resources will not only be able to develop much faster but will also decide where these valuable minerals will go. This means, he explained, that the pace of development in various regions of the world will depend on these resources.
When asked about the properties of critical resources, Jagielski cited the example of neodymium, a small amount of which can change the properties of metal alloys. - For example, neodymium magnet discs are virtually unbreakable, while those without neodymium enhancement can even be separated by a child - he explained.
China as the leader
Currently, - as he said - 68% of the world's rare earth metals market is controlled by China, which includes the world's largest rare earth metals mine in Bayan Obo, Inner Mongolia. Moreover, in recent years, thanks to the support of their government, Chinese companies have acquired valuable deposits in Africa. Significant portions of lithium, cobalt, titanium, and other resources needed for the production of batteries, wind turbines, medical devices, smartphones, computer disks, lasers, or electric and hybrid vehicles come from there.
The uniqueness of Ukrainian critical resource deposits - as Jagielski explains - is that they are located in Europe under favourable geological conditions (shallow below or on the surface, also in the form of placers) and are essentially unexploited. Some of them were discovered during the Soviet Union, but because they are located in crystalline rocks, their extraction was not started due to high operating costs.
- Today, however, extraction technologies are more advanced, and resource prices are so high that these deposits appear as a great treasure - the geologist explained. These resources are located in the central zone of Ukraine, stretching from the northwest to the Sea of Azov.
The expert, however, pointed out that 70% of valuable deposits are located in areas occupied by Russia. - There is also a deposit area along the Belarusian border by the Pripyat River. Therefore, the movement of Belarusian troops, likely to seize these deposits, is concerning - he assessed.
In his opinion, enabling the United States to access Ukrainian rare resource deposits means that they will take leadership from China in this market segment and strengthen their position in the global economy.
Rare earth metals, also known as rare earth elements, are a group of 17 chemical elements, which include: scandium, yttrium, lanthanum, cerium, praseodymium, neodymium, promethium, samarium, europium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, holmium, erbium, thulium, ytterbium, and lutetium.
