Yeah this “mineral deal” was NEVER intended to bring peace to Ukraine
Flashy_Upstairs9004 on
WHaT??? The Soviet estimates from the 1970s aren’t accurate? I am truly shocked.
Repulsive-Volume2711 on
At this point don’t tell Trump that till atleast the deal is signed
Y0___0Y on
The engineer is basically just saying she doesn’t know how much rare earth minerals are in Ukraine. They are there, but no one has done a geological study to identify just how much.
With all the reporting on this I had thought it was known that Ukraine had mineral reserves worth mining. It seeks there’s a chance that there are so few rare earth minerals that it wouldn’t make sense to mine them as the cost would outweigh the return.
GreatnessToTheMoon on
Doesn’t every country have “rare earth minerals” it’s just a matter of do you want to mine for them?
bigwang123 on
It’s being touted that Ukraine has a vast array of minerals that we could use. What are those resources?
There are certain technologically important minerals that Ukraine does possess. Those would be minerals that contain titanium; apparently they have some with cobalt and lithium; they’re said to have rare earths. But let’s go examine these materials in turn.
If I start with lithium, **lithium is not even in the top 20 in terms of Ukraine’s resources or reserves. It’s by far hundreds of times more abundant — and already being developed — in South America.** So developing lithium resources in Ukraine is a puzzle.
Then we move on to titanium. **The U.S. produces titanium and about 60% of titanium is recycled in the U.S. Indeed, Ukraine has titanium. But I can’t comment on the economic competitiveness of U.S.-sourced titanium (we also import quite a lot from Canada) versus Ukraine-sourced titanium.**
**Graphite is an important component for battery electrodes, and indeed there is graphite in Ukraine. China does dominate that market. Again, I don’t know the specifics of graphite production in Ukraine.**
**Cobalt I also found to be intriguing. Again, it’s an important energy-critical mineral, necessary for batteries, for magnets and other applications important to the United States. Most cobalt comes from the Democratic Republic of Congo, and right now they are in a very destructive, very serious internal conflict, and I anticipate those supplies will be compromised.** Now there is cobalt in Ukraine; there is cobalt in Russia; and there is cobalt in Australia. **The Congo has one hundred times the amount of cobalt that we do, and Russia has three times the amount that we do. I don’t know about Ukraine’s cobalt reserves.**
If we think about those minerals — and I’m not yet talking about rare earths — they’re probably already being mined, but that’s an important consideration. You’ve got to dig them up out of the ground before they can be used. However I don’t foresee them making a very large dent in what the U.S. already has access to.
What sources are you relying on in your assessment?
I am relying on information resources from the U.S. Geological Survey, which in my opinion provides the most reputable information concerning resources and reserves, as well as on my background and experience. It’s a significant investment to access ores and have them turned into useful metals, and I am not aware — and I do not know if the media outlets are aware — of the state of the critical mineral production right now in Ukraine, given that the war is now three years old.
**But the accessibility and amount of the minerals Ukraine might have do not seem to be of a level that would even be economically competitive with what we already have access to — and what other countries have.**
What about rare earths? Does Ukraine have them?
**The evidence for Ukraine having rare earths at all is derived from reports that are at least 50 years old that were conducted by Russia.** There really is no significant evidence that Ukraine has them. iiIf they do, and they say that they’re going to now develop this resource, it would require creating a mine, and the mine could take 15-20 years to build.** But I do not think rare earth resources will be developed from Ukraine in the short- to mid-term timeframe.
kevinfederlinebundle on
No, but they have tons of raw earth
E_Cayce on
Russia already occupies and plunders Ukraine richest mineral deposits. They are even building a railroad to be more efficient at it. I have no idea how Trump plans to get those back it he wants to steal them back for his friends’ profit.
bd_one on
Smart, now Ukraine only has to give up 50% (or whatever ratio it is) of almost nothing to get support.
9 Comments
Yeah this “mineral deal” was NEVER intended to bring peace to Ukraine
WHaT??? The Soviet estimates from the 1970s aren’t accurate? I am truly shocked.
At this point don’t tell Trump that till atleast the deal is signed
The engineer is basically just saying she doesn’t know how much rare earth minerals are in Ukraine. They are there, but no one has done a geological study to identify just how much.
With all the reporting on this I had thought it was known that Ukraine had mineral reserves worth mining. It seeks there’s a chance that there are so few rare earth minerals that it wouldn’t make sense to mine them as the cost would outweigh the return.
Doesn’t every country have “rare earth minerals” it’s just a matter of do you want to mine for them?
It’s being touted that Ukraine has a vast array of minerals that we could use. What are those resources?
There are certain technologically important minerals that Ukraine does possess. Those would be minerals that contain titanium; apparently they have some with cobalt and lithium; they’re said to have rare earths. But let’s go examine these materials in turn.
If I start with lithium, **lithium is not even in the top 20 in terms of Ukraine’s resources or reserves. It’s by far hundreds of times more abundant — and already being developed — in South America.** So developing lithium resources in Ukraine is a puzzle.
Then we move on to titanium. **The U.S. produces titanium and about 60% of titanium is recycled in the U.S. Indeed, Ukraine has titanium. But I can’t comment on the economic competitiveness of U.S.-sourced titanium (we also import quite a lot from Canada) versus Ukraine-sourced titanium.**
**Graphite is an important component for battery electrodes, and indeed there is graphite in Ukraine. China does dominate that market. Again, I don’t know the specifics of graphite production in Ukraine.**
**Cobalt I also found to be intriguing. Again, it’s an important energy-critical mineral, necessary for batteries, for magnets and other applications important to the United States. Most cobalt comes from the Democratic Republic of Congo, and right now they are in a very destructive, very serious internal conflict, and I anticipate those supplies will be compromised.** Now there is cobalt in Ukraine; there is cobalt in Russia; and there is cobalt in Australia. **The Congo has one hundred times the amount of cobalt that we do, and Russia has three times the amount that we do. I don’t know about Ukraine’s cobalt reserves.**
If we think about those minerals — and I’m not yet talking about rare earths — they’re probably already being mined, but that’s an important consideration. You’ve got to dig them up out of the ground before they can be used. However I don’t foresee them making a very large dent in what the U.S. already has access to.
What sources are you relying on in your assessment?
I am relying on information resources from the U.S. Geological Survey, which in my opinion provides the most reputable information concerning resources and reserves, as well as on my background and experience. It’s a significant investment to access ores and have them turned into useful metals, and I am not aware — and I do not know if the media outlets are aware — of the state of the critical mineral production right now in Ukraine, given that the war is now three years old.
**But the accessibility and amount of the minerals Ukraine might have do not seem to be of a level that would even be economically competitive with what we already have access to — and what other countries have.**
What about rare earths? Does Ukraine have them?
**The evidence for Ukraine having rare earths at all is derived from reports that are at least 50 years old that were conducted by Russia.** There really is no significant evidence that Ukraine has them. iiIf they do, and they say that they’re going to now develop this resource, it would require creating a mine, and the mine could take 15-20 years to build.** But I do not think rare earth resources will be developed from Ukraine in the short- to mid-term timeframe.
No, but they have tons of raw earth
Russia already occupies and plunders Ukraine richest mineral deposits. They are even building a railroad to be more efficient at it. I have no idea how Trump plans to get those back it he wants to steal them back for his friends’ profit.
Smart, now Ukraine only has to give up 50% (or whatever ratio it is) of almost nothing to get support.