President Donald Trump is days away from clinching a minerals-for-aid deal with Ukraine, but experts warn there’s limited proof the country’s store of raw critical minerals or rare earth elements can be dug up for the right price to generate the billions the president is hoping to secure.
“It is extremely unlikely that Ukraine will be a major player in rare earths, even with scoping and analysis and years of development,” said Daan de Jonge, a director of critical minerals for the advisory firm Benchmark Mineral Intelligence.
Trump on Wednesday said during a Cabinet meeting that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is arriving Friday in Washington to sign the agreement, paving the way for the U.S. to benefit from minerals in Ukraine in exchange for continued support. While details are still sparse, one item reportedly missing is any mention of Trump’s previous demand for “$500 billion dollars’ worth of rare earth.”
“We very much need rare earth, they have great rare earth,” Trump said Wednesday. “We’ll be working with [Interior] Secretary [Doug] Burgum and with [Energy Secretary Chris Wright]. … The deal we’re making … brings us great wealth,” he said.
