Journalists calculated when the U.S. will start receiving profits from Ukrainian minerals

The U.S. and Ukraine may wait a decade or more to see returns from the minerals agreement.

Reuters reports this.

The development of mines extracting strategically important minerals could take 10 to 20 years, mining industry consultants told the agency.

Moreover, for most of Ukraine’s mineral deposits, data confirming their economic viability is very limited. Additionally, investors may hesitate to pour money into a country where transportation and energy infrastructure have been severely damaged by three years of war, and where future security is uncertain.

“If anyone thinks these minerals will suddenly start flowing out of Ukraine, they’re mistaken. The reality is that it will be hard for people to justify investing money there when there are opportunities to invest in critical minerals in countries that are not at war,” said Adam Webb, Head of Mining at consulting firm Benchmark Minerals Intelligence.

The agreement lists 55 minerals, as well as oil, natural gas, and other hydrocarbons. According to Ukrainian data, the country has deposits of 22 out of the 34 minerals defined by the European Union as critical, including rare earth metals, lithium, and nickel.

“Moving from a discovered resource to an economically viable reserve requires significant time and investment, and both have been limited not only since the start of the war, but even before it,” said Willis Thomas of consulting firm CRU.

Another obstacle is that 7 out of 24 potential mining projects identified in Ukraine are located in territories occupied by Russia. These include lithium, graphite, rare earth elements, nickel, and manganese.