Ukraine Doesn't Have the Mineral Reserves Trump Hopes for - Bloomberg
Date: 2025-02-19 Author: Кирило Загоруйко Categories: ECONOMY
Ukraine has no large mineral deposits, and US President Donald Trump's interest in Ukrainian mineral resources makes no sense, Bloomberg columnist Javier Blas says.
The journalist makes such conclusions, citing the US Geological Survey. According to him, it does not indicate that "the country has any reserves." He calls this "stupid" and is surprised that the US president thinks differently.
According to Blas, this is not the first time Washington has made mistakes in its geology in a war zone. In 2010, the US announced that it had discovered untapped mineral deposits worth $1 trillion in Afghanistan. In particular, it was about lithium, which is important for electric vehicle batteries.
"But it was, as many said then and as everyone knows now, pure fantasy. The same applies to the probable wealth of Ukraine," the observer states.
He recalled that the excitement around Ukrainian mineral resources began with the Ukrainians themselves, who "desperately trying to find a way to attract Trump," presented the new president with a "victory plan" in November, which spoke about the potential of minerals in the country.
In February, Trump also spoke about this, in particular, he said that he wanted from Ukraine "the equivalent of minerals worth 500 billion dollars."
"I was puzzled. As far as I know, there are no significant mineral deposits in Ukraine, except for small scandium mines. The US Geological Survey, which deals with this issue, does not indicate that the country has any reserves. Like any other database that is usually used in the mining business," Blas noted.
He noted that, at best, the value of the entire world production of minerals reaches $15 billion per year, which is equal to the cost of only two days of global oil production.
"Even if Ukraine had giant deposits, they would not be so valuable in geoeconomic terms," the observer emphasized.
According to him, even if Ukraine could "as if by magic" produce 20% of the world's minerals, this would be equal to about $3 billion per year, and this is a long way from the $500 billion that Trump spoke about.
