Gasan Ramazanov on US interest in Ukrainian rare earth metals
US President Donald Trump said in a recent address that Ukraine should pay for US military aid by its «rare earth resources." Gasan Ramazanov, expert at the Gaidar Institute, told RTVI that despite having reserves of ores containing rare earth elements, Ukraine is not even among the top ten countries in terms of their production.
The expert noted that the key problem is that rare earth metals appear in nature in a dispersed form, and their extraction and processing require complex and expensive technologies.
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There are three main ways to extract rare earths:
- Primary extraction from ore deposits.
- Recycling of secondary raw materials (e.g. from used electronic equipment).
- Extraction from
non-conventional sources such as industrial waste.
Referring to Ukraine, Trump meant the first method, the expert explains. However, even in the United States, this process remains problematic: the country has only one
«Trump’s statements on Ukrainian rare earth imports are aimed at putting pressure on China as a major rare earth exporter, as the Middle Kingdom tightens export controls on critical raw materials as part of a trade standoff with the United States. The US dependence on rare earth metal supplies from China is extremely high. According to the World Bank, in 2023, the US imported about 400 tons of rare earth metals, of which 396 tons were supplies from China," summarized Gasan Ramazanov.
Thursday, 06.02.2025