SOURCE: VISUAL CAPITALIST
According to data from Ukraine’s Economy Ministry, the country holds deposits of 22 out of the 34 minerals classified as critical by the EU.
Mapping Ukraine’s rare earth and critical minerals
Ukraine holds deposits of 22 out of 34 minerals the EU classifies as critical. Many are in parts controlled by Russia.
Published On 28 Feb 202528 Feb 2025
- Ukraine also holds reserves of rare earth elements (REEs), a group of 17 metallic minerals essential for high-tech applications in electronics, defence, aerospace and renewable energy, including lanthanum, cerium and neodymium.
- According to the United Nations’ Russian-language news service, Ukraine’s critical mineral reserves made up approximately 5% of the global supply as of 2022.
- Its critical minerals include precious and non-ferrous metals, ferroalloys and minerals such as titanium, zirconium, graphite and lithium.
- Ukraine accounts for 7% of the global production of titanium.
Its lithium reserves are largely untapped and considered one of Europe’s largest, at an estimated 500,000 tonnes.
Where exactly are these minerals?
According to the Center for International Relations and Sustainable Development (CIRSD), a public policy think tank registered in Belgrade and New York, prior to the 2022 Russian invasion, Ukraine had registered 20,000 mineral deposits, with 8,700 of them proven, encompassing 117 of the 120 most globally used metals and minerals.
The country has some of the world’s top recoverable coal, gas, iron, manganese, nickel, ore, titanium, and uranium reserves.
Most of these minerals span Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporzhizhia, Dnipropetrovsk, Korovohrad, Poltava and Kharkiv.
Russia, which controls approximately 20 percent of Ukraine, including large parts of Luhansk, Donetsk and Zaporizhia, is sitting on about 40 percent of Ukraine’s metal resources according to estimates by Ukrainian think tanks We Build Ukraine and the National Institute of Strategic Studies, reports the Reuters news agency.
Ukraine has said that a significant portion of its rare earth elements are located in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. The Shevchenko Field of Lithium Ores, one of Ukraine’s biggest lithium deposits, is located in a rural settlement in Donetsk.
How much natural resource wealth does Ukraine have?
According to Ukraine Invest, the Ukrainian government’s investment promotion office, it possesses significant natural wealth in mineral resources worth trillions of
The areas with the greatest natural resource wealth are located in the east of the country, primarily under Russian control.
The loss of access to these resources has not only impacted Ukraine’s economy but also disrupted global supply chains, particularly in high-tech and defence sectors
Despite the ongoing war, Ukraine Invest reports that the mining sector remains a crucial part of the economy, with ongoing production in safer regions and growing international interest in securing long-term investment opportunities.
Who has the most rare earth minerals in the world?
The countries with the largest rare earth mineral reserves are ranked below based on their estimated reserves according to the US Geological Survey’s Mineral Commodity Summaries 2025:
- China – 44 million metric tonnes (mt; 1mt is equal to 1,000 kilogrammes). It also controls about 70 percent of global rare earth mineral processing
- Brazil – 21 million mt
- India – 6.9 million mt
- Australia – 5.7 million mt
- Russia – 3.8 million mt
- Vietnam – 3.5 million mt
- United States – 1.9 million mt
- Greenland – 1.5 million mt
- Tanzania – 890,000mt
- South Africa – 860,000mt
- Canada – 830,000mt
- Thailand – 4,500mt
Source: Al Jazeera
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