“They have great rare earth. And I want security of the rare earth, and they’re willing to do it,” US President Donald Trump told reporters on Monday that he might supply aid to Ukraine in exchange for Ukraine’s rare earth wealth.
Trump’s remarks echoed US Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham’s statement in February 2024, in which Graham suggested Kyiv pay off Washington’s loan with its vast mineral resources.
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But what can Ukraine offer?
What are rare earth elements?
There are 17 rare earth elements whose primary uses are in high-tech components.
The elements include neodymium, dysprosium and terbium, used in making powerful magnets for electric vehicles, wind turbines and smartphones, and europium and yttrium used in building energy-efficient lighting and display screens, just to name a few.
Scandium, one of the rare earth elements, is often used with aluminum to create an alloy suitable for aerospace applications.
Contrary to its name, rare earth elements are abundant in the earth’s crust – just scattered in smaller clumps and unusual to find in their pure form.
Lithium – a critical component in making batteries of which Ukraine is believed to possess a third of Europe’s reserves – is not a rare earth element.
What does Ukraine have?
According to an article by Ukraine’s Geology Institute, rare earth elements such as cerium, lanthanum, neodymium, erbium, samarium, lutetium and yttrium were found in the Azov Deposit – an area under Russian occupation – though the amount of reserves remain unclear.
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A 2022 research funded by the EU says, “There is no specific information available on reserves of cerium, dysprosium, erbium, europium, gadolinium, holmium, lanthanum, lutetium, neodymium, praseodymium, samarium, terbium, thulium nor ytterbium in Ukraine.”
However, it says that Ukraine’s reserves of scandium are classified, some information could be found in open sources.
Scandium reserves “have been estimated in four complex deposits: Zhovtorichanske (metasomatites), Stremyhorodske, Torchynske (apatitetitanomagnetite-ilmenite ore roots and their weathering crusts), and Zlobitske ilmenite placer deposit,” the report says.
Though the report did not disclose the amount of scandium in Ukraine, it says that Ukraine has a vast reserve that, coupled with Ukraine’s ability to extract the element, could meet domestic demands whilst exporting it.
“The mineral resources of scandium in the bowels of Ukraine are among the largest in the world, and the available mining and processing facilities make it possible to fully meet the domestic needs of scandium and supply it for export,” it says.
Implications behind Trump’s call
Assuming Trump is solely referring to rare earth elements and not other critical yet abundant elements found in Ukraine, such as lithium, graphite and titanium – or beryllium, which is considered rare but not a rare earth element by definition – the call could be interpreted as yet another preparation to challenge China’s domination.
At present, China remains the world’s largest rare earth producer with 44 million tons of reserves – out of the 110 million tons global total, according to a 2024 US Geological Survey assessment.
Trump’s remarks on Ukraine’s rare earth deposits also mirrored his earlier call to annex Greenland, in which some believed the island’s mineral wealth – promising though untapped, according to the Pulitzer Center – was the reason behind Trump’s Greenland gambit.
Klaus Dodds, professor of geopolitics at Royal Holloway, University of London, recently told CNN that he believes Trump intends to reduce reliance on China through Greenland’s vast mineral deposits.
“I think Greenland is really about keeping China out,” Dodds told CNN, referring to China’s current domination of global rare earth production.
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