The US and Ukraine are on the verge of a rare earth materials deal as the two countries’ leaders are set to meet on Friday in Washington.
As he returned to the White House last month, US President Donald Trump continued his criticism of the amount of monetary aid the US has given to Ukraine during the course of the war, which this week marked its third anniversary.
"Europe has given $100 billion. The United States has given $350 billion because we had a stupid, incompetent president and administration," he said on Saturday. Official figures, however, put the figure allocated by the US since February 2022 – the start of the war – at $174 billion.
Yet regardless of the amount, Trump added: "I want them to give us something for all of the money that we put up. So, we're asking for rare earth and oil, anything we can get."
The US will seek compensation for its aid to Ukraine, he stressed.
"So, we're getting our money back. We're going to get our money back because it's not fair," he said. "And we will see. But I think we're pretty close to a deal, and we better be close to a deal."
The deal, which includes seizing some rare earth material mining rights to the US in compensation for the continuing aid, is reportedly set to be signed on Friday by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and US President Donald Trump.
"President Zelenskyy is going to be coming on Friday. That's now confirmed, and we're going to be signing an agreement, which will be a very big agreement," Trump told reporters on Wednesday.
The exact details of the deal are not yet known, but Zelenskyy told journalists at Kyiv that the deal includes “at least a mention” of security guarantees for Ukraine, adding: “Officials briefed me, and it is there. This is important.”
Zelenskyy also denied claims that the deal on mineral resources included any large debt.
“There is no $500 billion debt, nor $350 billion, nor $100 billion. That would be unfair to us,” he stated.
He said the agreement could be a major success, but added: “A big success depends on the conversation with Trump.”
Zelenskyy said he has not reviewed the final version of the deal but Ukrainian officials see it positively.
“They say ‘it can work.’ I have not seen the final version yet, but the key issues I raised are there. Both Ukrainian and American teams worked well,” he said.
- Ukraine's rare earth materials
Ukraine is one of the leading countries in terms of rare mineral resources.
Rare earth materials are defined in a group of 17 metal oxides that are abundant in the Earth's crust worldwide. They are used in many fields such as cellphones, missile systems, electronic devices, renewable energy, the defense industry, and healthcare.
There are about 110 million tons of rare earth elements worldwide, according to a 2024 US Geological Survey report.
About 5% of the world's mineral reserves, including rare earth elements, are located in Ukraine, according to a 2024 World Economic Forum report.
According to the Turkish Trade Ministry, Ukraine is one of the world's most important mineral producing countries.
Ukraine is estimated to have more than 25 million tons of iron, nearly 3 million tons of manganese ore, and 1.5 billion tons of chalk and limestone reserves.
Critical minerals such as lithium, titanium, uranium, graphite, gallium, nickel, and beryllium are located in Ukraine, much of which has yet to be exploited.
The country also ranks among the top 10 globally for minerals, including bromine, magnesium metal, manganese, peat, pig iron, and kaolin, among others.
Before February 2022, Ukraine was a key titanium supplier for the military sector. It also has one of Europe’s largest confirmed reserves of lithium (estimated at 500,000 tons), which is vital for batteries, ceramics, and glass.
Ukraine has 7% of the world's titanium reserves, ranking first in titanium resources in Europe, estimated at 500,000 tons, according to the World Bank data.
The country earned more than $155 million from titanium exports in 2022, according to official data.
Ukraine is also the world’s fifth-largest gallium producer, essential for semiconductors and LEDs, and has been a major producer of neon gas, supplying 90% of the highly purified, semiconductor-grade neon for the US chip industry.
According to UkraineInvest, the country ranks sixth in the world in titanium, eighth in manganese, and tenth in iron and uranium.
Uranium, which Ukraine has significant resources of, is an important raw material in the nuclear energy, space research, and maritime areas.
Graphite, another mineral the country is rich in, is used in electronics, the steel industry and the aviation sector. Ukraine reportedly holds 20% of the world's graphite resources.
Rare earth elements like lanthanum, cerium, neodymium, yttrium, and erbium are also found in Ukraine. Erbium is utilized in fiber optic transmission and lasers, while neodymium is used in the manufacturing of powerful magnets, magnetic fields, telephone and tablet technologies, and wind turbines.
Yttrium is used in laser technology and superconductors, while lanthanum increases the durability of the material in steel production.
Significant nonferrous metal reserves are also located in Ukraine, including copper (ranked fourth in Europe), lead (ranked fifth), zinc (sixth), and silver (ninth).
Nickel deposits (215,000 tons) and cobalt (8,800 tons) are found in the secure Kirovohrad and Dnipropetrovsk regions.
It is speculated that Trump is interested in Ukraine's minerals in order to exploit them in US industrial production and to break China's dominance in rare earths.
- Some resources are controlled by Moscow
Ukraine has the vast majority of critical minerals in widespread use, but some of these, notably coal deposits, have either fallen under Moscow's control or are located close to the front lines since Russia's illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014 and the war that began in 2022.
Since the war began, Russia has taken control of most of the coal deposits, especially in eastern Ukraine. The war-torn Donetsk region contains the vast majority of Ukraine's coal reserves.
The war-affected Dnieper-Donetsk region is also home to around 80% of the country's proven hydrocarbon reserves and accounts for the vast majority of Ukraine's natural gas production.
The Donbas region is home to 15% of Ukraine's industrial activity and more than 20% of its exports.
According to international media reports, Ukraine was forced to close the country's last coking coal mine in January after Russian troops approached the city of Pokrovsk, a key logistics hub located west of Donetsk.
By Mucahithan Avcioglu and Gokhan Celiker
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr