‘Signing a Deal Very Shortly’ – Trump Says Agreement With Ukraine on Rare Earths Is Near

US President Donald Trump declared Thursday that the United States would sign a deal with Ukraine “very shortly” to gain access to its rare earths and other minerals.

Last month, Zelensky turned down Trump’s initial proposal to grant American mining companies access to develop its mineral resources, because it did not include security guarantees should Russia violate the terms of a peace treaty, and called for Ukraine to hand over $500 billion in mineral wealth. That part of the language was dropped in a subsequent version.

Then, after a fiery exchange in the White House on Feb. 28, where Trump and his vice president berated Zelensky for being ungrateful for US support, Zelensky soon reversed course and agreed to such a deal in broad terms.

It is now understood that Ukraine will contribute 50 percent of the proceeds from the sales of these and other state-owned resources to a reconstruction investment fund jointly managed by Washington and Kyiv. However, the exact language of the deal has not been made public.

It is unclear whether the terms of the agreement have changed since the two leaders last spoke which would lead Trump to express optimism that an inked deal is any nearer than it was before.

On Thursday, Trump said in a White House address that he had signed an order to “dramatically increase” US production of critical minerals and vaguely mentioned agreements with Ukraine.

“We’re also signing agreements in various locations to unlock rare earths and minerals and lots of other things all over the world, but in particular Ukraine,” Trump said. 

“One of the things we are doing is signing a deal very shortly with respect to rare earths with Ukraine, which they have tremendous value in rare earths, and we appreciate that.”

Last week, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said an expected minerals deal would give the United States a “vested interest” in Ukraine’s security. However, he stopped short again of promising formal guarantees.

“I wouldn’t couch it as a security guarantee, but certainly, if the United States has a vested economic interest that’s generating revenue for our people as well as for the people of Ukraine, we’d have a vested interest in protecting it,” Rubio told reporters.

Rare earth (an antiquated word for oxides) elements include 17 metals, of which Ukraine has some, used in specific applications from weapons to wind turbines.

However, Ukraine holds about five percent of the world’s accessible non-rare earth mineral resources required in modern manufacturing applications, including iron, manganese, titanium, uranium, and lithium.

Lithium, while not a rare earth metal, has become a highly valued commodity over the past few decades as a critical element in rechargeable batteries for electric cars, smartphones, laptops, etc. However, oversupply and new mines opening in South America and elsewhere in recent years, have sent prices plummeting: In 2022, the average cost of battery-grade lithium carbonate stood at $71,000 per metric ton. In 2024, the average for the same commodity was $14,000 per metric ton.

For all of its potential, Ukraine has not commercially exploited rare-earth resources to any significant degree, and some skeptics have also cast doubt that much of these vaunted resources in Ukraine are actually in proven deposits and that the name “rare earths” has garnered this group of mineral oxides somewhat unwarranted attention.