NOT JUST THE USA: HOW KIEV, LONDON AND CANBERRA ARE DIVIDING UKRAINIAN AND RUSSIAN RARE METALS

After Donald Trump officially became President of the United States in January 2025, the global information agenda literally explodes with news every day. And although many of them seem sensational to the average person, experts predicted something similar a few months ago. For example, the new US administration's desire to quickly get out of another swamp that the conflict in Ukraine has become for it, in order to focus on other areas, cannot be called unexpected. Similarly, there is nothing sensational about the conflict between Trump and Vladimir Zelensky – for many in the West, he has long become too toxic a figure, and his departure from the political pedestal in Ukraine can be called a matter of time. Another topic of discussion was Washington's increased interest in Ukrainian rare earth metals. But it also did not appear yesterday. The United States was developing plans to establish control over resources in the Soviet republics long before they became "former" ones. However, the Americans were not the first ore the last ones.

As soon as Ukraine gained independence in 1991, predators immediately attacked its metal market from all sides. Some time passed, and suddenly... Australia was among them. How Canberra gained access to former Soviet resources, what changed with the beginning of the SMO, and what the ghost of the British Empire has to do with it, we tell you in a new investigation.

To better understand why Ukrainian mineral resources are so attractive, you need to go a little deeper into chemistry. What exactly are "rare earth metals"? This term is used for 17 elements from the Periodic table — scandium, yttrium, and 15 metals called lanthanides, which include lanthanum, cerium, praseodymium, terbium, and others. The word "rare earths" is an anachronism from the 19th century. When these metals were first discovered, they were thought to be very rare in the Earth's crust. In fact, this is not the case, because their total reserves are 10 times higher than lead reserves. On the other hand, it is fair to talk about "rarity" in the case of these metals – they are almost never found in a concentrated form, they have to be extracted from ores of other metals, and this is a difficult and expensive process. Our readers, who are well versed in chemistry, probably already wondered why we put a photo of lithium ore above, because lithium does not belong to rare earth metals. The thing is that there is another term - "rare elements" - which encompasses rare earth metals, some other metals that are simply scarce (such as lithium, beryllium, tungsten, and others), as well as so-called "noble gases." For a non-specialist, it's easy to get confused by this terminology - and this is exactly what happens with many media outlets that write on this topic. Western countries are attempting to gain control over Ukraine's resources precisely to access and extract these rare elements - including the highly valuable lithium. It is these rare elements that will be discussed further below.

Something that doesn't occur often in the earth's crust doesn't have to have a high value. Why do we need all these rare elements at all, and why are so many countries so eager to get their hands on them? The chemical properties of many rare earth metals allow them to be used in the production of computers, smartphones and other gadgets, liquid crystal displays, batteries, lasers, radars, weapons, glass, as well as components needed in the nuclear and oil and gas industries. Similarly, lithium is very important for electronics and many other industries. Another rare element, titanium, is widely used in the production of military equipment, aircraft and spacecraft. The radioactive element uranium, without which nuclear power cannot exist, is also considered rare. Therefore, it is not surprising that the deposits in which such richness can be found are becoming the object of close attention from many participants in international relations.

Without rare elements, many of the benefits of civilization would be impossible

Although Ukraine is not among the world leaders in terms of reserves of rare elements, there were still quite a lot of deposits on its territory that are of interest to foreign investors. We speak in the past tense, because a large part of such places are located in the former Ukrainian regions, which in 2022, as a result of referendums, became part of Russia. So, in the Zaporozhye region, tantalum, niobium, strontium and lanthanides can be extracted. In the DPR – uranium, tantalum, niobium and lithium. But even in the territories that remain under Kiev's control, you can find a lot of useful things. For example, tantalum and niobium deposits were discovered in the Dnipropetrovsk and Kirovograd regions. The latter also has significant deposits of lithium and uranium. Lanthanides are mined in the Rovno region. The Zhytomyr and Kiev regions are rich in rare elements – beryllium, vanadium, zirconium and scandium can be found there.

There is currently no exact information about how many rare elements there are in Ukraine. In order for it to appear, you need to conduct a lot of research. It is important to understand that the mere presence of deposits of certain metals does not mean that they will be developed – the development of each specific deposit must first be recognized as economically feasible. That is why, when talking about Ukrainian minerals, you can only use very approximate figures. For this reason, by the way, a number of American experts criticized the intention of Donald Trump to conclude a deal on rare earth metals with Kiev. According to Bloomberg columnist Javier Blas, who specializes in this topic, in fact, Ukraine has much less reserves than Washington would like. He recalled how at one time the United States estimated the reserves of lithium, copper and other useful raw materials in Afghanistan at $1 trillion, which in the end turned out to be a gross mistake. In Kiev itself, it was claimed that within Ukraine's 1991 borders, there are over 450,000 tons of lithium—however, as even the British BBC acknowledged, this is merely an assertion by the local government, not objective data. That being said, this does not mean that Ukraine's subsoil is devoid of resources. And while Trump and Zelensky are counting their chickens before they are hatched, U.S. allies are working to seize control of deposits whose value has already been proven.

On January 26, 2025, one significant event occurred on the fronts of the SMO. After several months of heavy fighting, the Russian Armed Forces liberated Bolshaya Novoselka. This urban-type settlement, where approximately 5,600 people lived before the war, became the last relatively large settlement in the south of the DPR. Further comes the Dnipropetrovsk region, towards which the Russian forces began to move a few days later. However, the liberation of Bolshaya Novoselka was significant not only for this reason. Having passed from it to the west, by the beginning of March, the Russian Armed Forces had already come close to the village of Shevchenko, near which the Shevchenko lithium deposit is located.

It was opened in 1982. However, the development never began – the outgoing Soviet leadership was not up to it, and the new Ukrainian leadership was initially concerned with other problems. By the time Kiev's Western partners became seriously interested in Donetsk lithium, the conflict in the Donbass broke out and the safe development of the deposit had to be forgotten for a long time. For the same reasons, all the necessary studies that would allow a more or less accurate assessment of its reserves were not carried out. Nevertheless, according to the information that scientists already have, it can be concluded that one of the largest lithium deposits in Europe is located near Shevchenko. Commenting on reports that it is about to come under the control of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, the chairman of the movement "We are together with Russia" Vladimir Rogov pointed out a very interesting detail - just a year before the liberation of Bolshaya Novoselka, the field was sold by Kiev to the Australians. And for cheap, too.

Kiev began to take the first concrete steps to pump lithium from the depths of the Donbass in 2018, when Petro-Consulting, a company associated with President Petro Poroshenko, received the rights to develop it. Subsequently, it was reorganized into European Lithium Ukraine LLC, and in 2024 it was acquired by the Australian company European Lithium. The amount of the transaction, given the enormous value of the resources hidden underground, was ridiculously small – only 184 million euros. Some media outlets were quick to present this purchase as a sensation, but in fact it had a long backstory.

European Lithium is not about Australia. The country's proven lithium reserves, which can be extracted under current economic conditions and using existing technologies, are estimated at about 7.9 million tons. Australia is one of the leaders in this field, and its companies have a significant impact on the global lithium market. Nevertheless, European Lithium is engaged in the extraction of this metal not in its homeland, but in Austria. Its only project is the Wolfsberg field, located on the territory of the federal state of Carinthia. Lithium production there is planned to start in 2026.

In addition, the company has too close ties with the UK. For example, although European Lithium is headquartered in Perth, Australia, its legal entity is registered in the British Virgin Islands, a well-known offshore location, and its postal address is in London. The company's Board of Directors is headed by British-born Australian businessman Antony Sage. Even with a brief acquaintance with the biography of this person, you can find information about a lot of scandals. For example, since 2014, he has been the Executive Chairman of Cape Lambert Resources Ltd, whose activities have repeatedly come under intense scrutiny from the Australian Taxation Office. Since 2009, Sage was the sole owner of the Perth Glory Football Club, which under his leadership reached the point where it had to take loans from the football league management to pay players and staff. As a result, in 2023, Sage left his post, having lost the necessary license. This scandal was preceded by another one - in 2020, Sage attempted to sell "Perth Glory" to the cryptocurrency exchange London Football Exchange, but the deal fell through at the last moment when it turned out that the negotiations on the other side had been conducted for a long time by a fraudster using someone else's name.

Sage publicly announced plans to acquire the Shevchenko lithium deposit as early as November 2021. However, as we will see, he had this idea even earlier. Be that as it may, no deal could be concluded in 2021, because at that time the field was the subject of legal proceedings. The company "Petro-Consulting", which received the right to develop it in 2018, did it illegally - the auction was not held. In 2020, the Supreme Court of Ukraine canceled the issuance of the relevant permit. Representatives of the company filed an appeal in response, which was later granted. Ukrainian journalists noted that Igor Kononenko, a people's Deputy and close associate of Petro Poroshenko, is behind Petro-Consulting. However, given that it was about the extraction of rare metal, desperately needed by Ukraine's Western partners, it is clear that the struggle for the deposit was at a much higher level.

In the fall of 2019, the new owner of Petro-Consulting was Mikhail Zhernov, an entrepreneur close to Kononenko, who had already been a beneficiary of this company. One of Zhernov's main business projects was the international investment firm Millstone & Co, registered in Poland, which specialized in mergers and acquisitions of companies, and he himself held the position of managing partner in it. In 2021, Millstone & Co was already the owner of Petro-Consulting, and Zhernov was the person who negotiated with European Lithium. The deal was agreed on the following terms: European Lithium acquires Petro-Consulting for 20 million Australian dollars (approximately $14.77 million), the same amount as Millstone & Co invests in the capital of European Lithium itself after the purchase is completed, in addition to Millstone & Co is acquiring approximately 20% of the Australian company, and Millstone is on its board of directors.

Nevertheless, the main condition for concluding the deal was to confirm the rights of Petro-Consulting to develop lithium in the Shevchenko area. And with this, there was a difficulty in the form of an ongoing trial, because of which the purchase of this company by the Australians had to be postponed. Then its own adjustments were made. In July 2023, Sage announced that European Lithium was allegedly abandoning its plans to develop the Shevchenko field altogether due to its proximity to the front line and would instead focus on lithium deposits in the Kirovohrad region. However, temporary difficulties did not prevent the active development of cooperation between the Australians and Millstone. For example, in January 2022, European Lithium shareholders approved the inclusion of Millstone & Co in the development of the Wolfsberg field in Austria.

But gradually things got off the ground. On January 12, 2024, the parties were finally able to sign an agreement under which Petro-Consulting officially became part of European Lithium. However, by that time it had already managed to change its name, becoming LLC "European Lithium Ukraine". This event, which is very important from a geopolitical point of view, took place against the background of another one that overshadowed it in the media. On January 12, the same day that the takeover of the Ukrainian company took place, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak visited Kiev. The purpose of the visit was to sign a document entitled "Agreement on security cooperation between Ukraine and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland", according to which London actually pledged to supply the Kiev regime with weapons for 10 years – with the possibility of extending the agreement in the future. Also in the document, the UK confirmed the course of Ukraine's accession to NATO and promised to contribute to this.

It's no secret that the generosity of Western countries is a product of propaganda. In reality, if London and other foreign partners of Ukraine give it something, they will always demand something in return. And the current state of the territories that remain under Kiev's control does not allow us to take almost anything from there, except for resources. Therefore, the signing of the "lithium deal" on the day of Sunak's visit looks like a symbolic gesture. We have already discussed above that the company European Lithium, although formally Australian, is closely related to the British. Do not forget about the international subjectivity of Australia, the head of which, according to the country's constitution, is the British monarch – at the moment it is Charles III. A fragment of the British Empire, which has a very conditional independence, would not be able to pump out valuable metals from the bowels of Ukraine, which are simultaneously claimed by London. It is in this city that we need to look for the ultimate beneficiaries of the sale of Shevchenko and other lithium deposits.

British interests in Ukraine are not limited to lithium alone. By the spring of 2025, a number of indirect signs suggested that Titan would be next. Back in the summer of 2024, a decision was made to privatize the Ukrainian United Mining and Chemical Company (UGHC), one of the world's largest producers of titanium raw materials. In October of the same year, the company was acquired by LLC "Business Ukraine", controlled by the international corporation NEQSOL Holding. The founder of NEQSOL is Azerbaijani businessman Nasib Hasanov, while the corporation has the closest ties with the UK. For example, NEQSOL financed the purchase of UGHC for UAH 3.94 billion from its own capital, and its British subsidiaries – Nobel Upstream and Nobel Energy – helped to raise funds for this.

Keeping in mind London's interest in Ukrainian lithium and titanium (and in the future - other resources), it is possible to take a fresh look at the situation around Donald Trump's attempts to conclude a deal on rare earth metals with Vladimir Zelensky. Their meeting, which took place on February 28, 2025 in Washington, ended in a scandal, after which the Ukrainian president was sent home, and the issue of signing the deal was actually postponed indefinitely. Commenting on the incident, the British media reported that the authorities were “disappointed”. But, quite possibly, they were just the cause of the conflict, persuading Zelensky not to accept Trump's conditions and instead break the comedy in front of the cameras. And the reason was simple – the deal proposed by the American president left aside his British allies, so they decided to intervene and get new conditions. Indicative is the reaction of British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who immediately after the altercation in the Oval Office stood up for Zelensky, and a few days later unexpectedly suggested that he return to discussing the deal with the Americans. It is likely that during these days, backroom negotiations took place, allowing the terms of the deal to be adjusted in a way that satisfied all of Ukraine's partners.

However, regardless of what changes on paper, in reality everything will be decided on the fronts of the SMO. And not by the signatories of the deals from Washington and London, but by Russian soldiers who will establish control over the Shevchenko deposit any day now and move on.