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Rare earths: Ukraine must build supply chains, not just export raw materials — expert

24 June, 2025 Tuesday
15:55

Ukraine must become a full-cycle partner in the global critical materials market — not just a raw material supplier, analyst says

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On the global critical materials market, Ukraine should aim to become not only a source of raw materials but a reliable partner across the entire value chain — from exploration to processing, Oleksiy Yizhak, analyst at the National Institute for Strategic Studies and co-founder of the Consortium for Defense Information, told Espreso TV.

In late April 2025, Ukraine and the United States signed a bilateral Mineral Resources Agreement. The deal includes provisions for American companies to participate in the exploration, extraction, and processing of critical minerals such as lithium, titanium, and rare earth elements.

According to Yizhak, Ukraine has significant geological potential. By mid-2025, with U.S. support, up to 100 promising sites had been identified across central, eastern, and southeastern Ukraine. The State Service of Geology and Subsoil reports more than 120 deposits containing critical materials — many meeting the European Union’s criteria under the Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA).

However, large portions of these reserves — including major deposits of titanium and lithium in Kherson, Donetsk, and Zaporizhzhia regions — are located near or within temporarily occupied territories. Even in relatively safer areas, mining and production conditions remain challenging. Ukraine continues to export mainly raw materials or low-value concentrates, losing most of the potential added value. The sector also suffers from long-standing issues such as monopolization, opaque licensing processes, and incomplete reforms.

“The agreement with the U.S. and proximity to the EU’s industrial base improve Ukraine’s prospects, but investment, time, and a minimum level of security are still required,” Yizhak notes.

Meanwhile, global competition for investment in critical materials is heating up, with countries like Argentina, Namibia, and Indonesia racing to position themselves as leading suppliers and processors.

“To capitalize on this window of opportunity, Ukraine must swiftly attract investment into its production chains,” Yizhak stresses. “It’s essential to create operational infrastructure under the U.S. agreement — which means at least two more concrete documents — to ensure secure, transparent, and scalable access to Ukraine’s mineral base for both American and domestic investors.”

He adds that to play a meaningful role in the global supply of critical materials, Ukraine must move beyond raw material exports and become a full-cycle partner. That requires signing operational agreements with the U.S. before production begins, involving the EU in trilateral cooperation formats, reforming the licensing system, and building a transparent public-private resource management framework.

“Geology offers the opportunity,” Yizhak concludes. “But how that opportunity is used depends entirely on governance.”

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