🌱 Why does Ukraine play a strategic role?
According to NATO, Ukraine “is a global powerhouse in mineral resources, holding approximately 5% of the world’s total”. The World Economic Forum says it is a “top 10 global supplier of mineral resources”. Ukraine has around 20 000 natural deposits and 116 different deposit types. These deposits include 21 of the elements listed on the EU’s list of 30 critical raw materials. Ukraine is considered to be “a key potential supplier of […] metals such as titanium, lithium, beryllium, manganese, gallium, uranium, zirconium, graphite, apatite, fluorite, and nickel”.
🌱 What raw materials are there?
In April 2023, Forbes Ukraine estimated that Ukraine had 111 billion tonnes of mineral resources. This is mostly coal and iron ore. That said, Ukraine has the largest titanium reserves in Europe and 7% of the global lithium reserves. It is the 5th largest producer of gallium in the world and holds 20% of the global graphite reserves. Ukraine has over 215 000 tons in nickel deposits and over 8800 tons in cobalt deposits. It is also “among the world’s top ten producers of minerals like bromine, magnesium metal manganese, peat, pig iron, and kaolin”. Moreover, Ukraine has one of the largest confirmed lithium reserves in Europe, which is estimated to come in at around 500 000 tons. Additionally, it holds significant reserves of nonferrous metals – including copper (ranked 4th in Europe), lead (5th), zinc (6th), and silver (9th).
🌱 What was Ukraine’s market position before February 2022?
Before February 2022, 15% of Ukrainian deposits were actively being exploited. Ukraine used to rank in the “top 10 producers for titanium, zirconium, graphite, and manganese production” globally. Moreover, Ukraine “was a significant supplier of steel plates, titanium, lithium, gallium, iron ore and manganese to Europe” in 2022. In line with this, 43% of steel plate imports to the EU came from Ukraine in 2021.
🌱 How has the invasion impacted mineral exploitation?
The Russian invasion has a considerable “strategic and economic dimension”, as it has caused a major disruption to Ukraine’s mineral exploitation and supply routes. Ukraine’s mineral resources are estimated to be worth $14.8 to $26 trillion in total. The 33 million tonnes of lithium ore in Ukraine alone are estimated to be worth $38 billion. Over 70% of Ukraine’s resources are, however, located in the Donetsk, Lugansk, and Dnipropetrovsk regions, which are either partly controlled or directly threatened by Russia. By occupying territories, Russia has seized “resources worth $350bn”. Russia has “occupied 63% of Ukrainian coal mines, and half of its manganese, caesium, tantalum and rare earth deposits”.
Read more about Ukraine’s raw materials here:
- https://www.enseccoe.org/publications/ukraines-resources/
- https://unric.org/en/rare-earths-and-strategic-minerals-in-ukraine/
- https://www.geo.gov.ua/wp-content/uploads/presentations/en/critical-minerals-portfolio.pdf