The projects – which would supply copper, palladium and other minerals – have been granted FAST-41 status, a federal initiative launched in 2015 to streamline approvals of critical infrastructure.

The Trump administration last month had named an initial 10 projects to the list and said that more would be added in the future.

All of the projects are listed on a US federal website where their permitting progress can be publicly tracked, part of what the administration calls a push for greater transparency and faster permitting.

The latest 10 include a proposed copper and nickel mine in Minnesota from a joint venture of Glencore and Teck Resources; a New Mexico uranium project from Energy Fuels; expansion of a Montana palladium project from Sibanye Stillwater; an Alaskan silver project from Hecla; and a Georgia titanium dioxide project from Chemours.

South32’s Hermosa zinc-manganese project in Arizona was fast-tracked by former President Joe Biden, the first mine to receive the FAST-41 treatment.

President Donald Trump also last month ordered a probe into potential new tariffs on all US critical minerals imports, a major escalation in his dispute with global trade partners and an attempt to pressure industry leader China.

(By Ernest Scheyder; Editing by Marguerita Choy)

Developing mines that produce strategically important minerals in countries with established mining sectors such as Canada and Australia can take 10 to 20 years, mining consultants said on Thursday.

But most mineral deposits in Ukraine have scant data to confirm they are economically viable. Investors may also baulk at funnelling money into a country where infrastructure such as power and transport has been devastated by Russia’s three-year-old full-scale invasion and future security is not guaranteed.

“If anyone’s thinking suddenly all these minerals are going to be flying out of Ukraine, they’re dreaming,” said Adam Webb, head of minerals at consultancy Benchmark Minerals Intelligence.

“The reality is it’s going to be difficult for people to justify investing money there when there are options to invest in critical minerals in countries that are not at war.”

While the financial benefits from the deal are uncertain, officials in Ukraine hailed it as a political breakthrough: They believe it will help shore up US support for Kyiv that has faltered under President Donald Trump.

Ukraine needs US support – especially weapons and cash – to withstand Russia’s military invasion.

On the US side, Trump heavily promoted the deal, especially the access it provides to Ukraine’s deposits of rare earth elements which are used in everything from cellphones to cars. So government policy could hasten investment.

The US does not produce significant amounts of rare earths and has ramped up a trade war with China, the world’s top supplier.

The text of the deal signed in Washington showed that revenues for the reconstruction fund would come from royalties, licence fees and production-sharing agreements.

The text mentions no financial terms, saying that the two sides still have to hammer out a limited partnership agreement between the US International Development Finance Corp and Ukraine’s State Organization Agency on Support for Public-Private Partnership.

The text details 55 minerals plus oil, natural gas and other hydrocarbons. According to Ukrainian data, the country has deposits of 22 of the 34 minerals identified by the European Union as critical, including rare earths, lithium and nickel.

“The transition from a discovered resource to an economically viable reserve requires significant time and investment, both of which have been constrained, not only since the onset of the war but even prior to it,” said Willis Thomas at consultancy CRU.

Ukrainian finance ministry data showed that in 2024, the Ukrainian state earned 47.7 billion hryvnias, or around $1 billion, in royalties and other fees related to natural resources exploitation.

But the joint fund created under the deal will only get revenue from new licences, permits and production-sharing agreements concluded after the accord comes into force.

Slow pace of mining licences

Ukraine was slow to issue new natural resources licenses before Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion. From 2012 to 2020, about 20 licences were issued for oil and gas, one for graphite, one for gold, two for manganese and one for copper, according to the Ukrainian geological service. There are 3,482 existing licenses in total.

Since the agreement creates a limited partnership, the two countries may be looking at direct government investment in a mining company, analysts said.

Chile, the world’s biggest copper producer and owner of state mining company Codelco, could be an example they follow, Webb said.

Another hurdle is that some potentially lucrative projects are on land occupied by Russia, and the agreement does not include any security guarantees. Washington has said the presence of US interests would deter aggressors.

Seven of 24 potential mining projects identified by Benchmark are in Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine and include lithium, graphite, rare earth elements, nickel and manganese.

An official of a small Ukrainian company that holds the licence for the Polokhivske lithium deposit, one of the largest in Europe, told Reuters in February it would be tough to develop without Western security guarantees.

“The deal ties the US more closely into Ukraine in that now they’ve got a bit more of a vested interest in this war coming to an end so that they can develop those assets,” Webb said.

(By Eric Onstad, Pavel Polityuk and Christian Lowe; Editing by Veronica Brown and Cynthia Osterman)

The initiative, led by US President Donald Trump’s senior Africa advisor Massad Boulos, is designed to accompany the bilateral minerals pacts being ironed out with both nations, which would see billions of dollars of Western investments in the region.

“The (agreement) with the DRC is at a much bigger scale, because it’s a much bigger country and it has much more resources, but Rwanda also has a lot of resources and capacities and potential in the area of mining as well,” Boulos told Reuters.

DRC is currently the world’s largest cobalt producer and the leading copper producer in Africa. The country also produces nearly 70% of the world’s tantalum, extracted from coltan. Its eastern provinces hold significant reserves of tin, tungsten and additional coltan deposits.

For decades, Congo has been at odds with the neighbouring Rwanda due to ethnic tensions and control over the region’s natural resources. The conflict escalated earlier this year when the Rwandan-backed M23 rebels attacked and seized control over parts of eastern Congo, including the strategic mining hub of Walikale.

As part of the US peace mediation process, both African nations are expected to submit separate drafts of a peace agreement on Friday, with meeting scheduled in mid-May involving US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the foreign ministers of the DRC and Rwanda to finalize the accord, according to Reuters.

For the peace agreement to succeed, Boulos said several key security concerns must be addressed: Rwanda must withdraw its troops and cease support for the M23 rebels, while the DRC must address Rwandan concerns with militias like the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR).

A multinational oversight committee, including the US, Qatar, France and Togo, is monitoring the progress of the peace deal, Boulos added.

The following is an overview of the critical minerals, including rare earths, and other natural resources in Ukraine:

What are rare earths and what are they used for?

Rare earths are a group of 17 metals used to make magnets that turn power into motion for electric vehicles, cell phones, missile systems, and other electronics. There are no viable substitutes.

The US Geological Survey considers 50 minerals to be critical, including rare earths, nickel and lithium.

Critical minerals are essential for industries such as defence, high-tech appliances, aerospace and green energy.

What mineral resources does Ukraine have?

Ukraine has deposits of 22 of the 34 minerals identified by the European Union as critical, according to Ukrainian data. They include industrial and construction materials, ferro alloy, precious and non-ferrous metals, and some rare earth elements.

According to Ukraine’s Institute of Geology, the country possesses rare earths such as lanthanum and cerium, used in TVs and lighting; neodymium, used in wind turbines and EV batteries; and erbium and yttrium, whose applications range from nuclear power to lasers. EU-funded research also indicates that Ukraine has scandium reserves. Detailed data is classified.

The World Economic Forum has said Ukraine is also a key potential supplier of lithium, beryllium, manganese, gallium, zirconium, graphite, apatite, fluorite and nickel.

The State Geological Service said Ukraine has one of Europe’s largest confirmed reserves, estimated at 500,000 metric tons, of lithium – vital for batteries, ceramics, and glass.

The country has titanium reserves, mostly located in its northwestern and central regions, while lithium is found in the centre, east and southeast.

Ukraine’s reserves of graphite, a key component in electric vehicle batteries and nuclear reactors, represent 20% of global resources. The deposits are in the centre and west.

Ukraine also has significant coal reserves, though most are now under the control of Russia in occupied territory.

Mining analysts and economists say Ukraine currently has no commercially operational rare earth mines.

China is the world’s largest producer of rare earths and many other critical minerals.

What do we know about the deal?

The two countries signed the accord in Washington after months of sometimes fraught negotiations, with uncertainty persisting until the last moment with word of an eleventh-hour snag.

The accord establishes a joint investment fund for Ukraine’s reconstruction as Trump tries to secure a peace settlement in Russia’s three-year-old war in Ukraine.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Ukrainian First Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko were shown signing the agreement in a photo posted on X by the Treasury, which said the deal “clearly signals the Trump Administration’s commitment to a free, sovereign, prosperous Ukraine.”

Svyrydenko wrote on X that the accord provides for Washington to contribute to the fund. She also said the accord provides for new assistance, for example air defense systems for Ukraine. The US did not directly address that suggestion.

Svyrydenko said the accord allowed Ukraine to “determine what and where to extract” and that its subsoil remains owned by Ukraine.

Svyrydenko said Ukraine has no debt obligations to the United States under the agreement, a key point in the lengthy negotiations between the two countries. It also complied with Ukraine’s constitution and Ukraine’s campaign to join the European Union, she said.

The draft did not provide any concrete US security guarantees for Ukraine, one of its initial goals.

Which Ukrainian resources are under Kyiv’s control?

The war has caused widespread damage across Ukraine, and Russia now controls around a fifth of its territory.

The bulk of Ukraine’s coal deposits, which powered its steel industry before the war, are concentrated in the east and have been lost.

About 40% of Ukraine’s metal resources are now under Russian occupation, according to estimates by Ukrainian think-tanks We Build Ukraine and the National Institute of Strategic Studies, citing data up to the first half of 2024. They provided no detailed breakdown.

Since then, Russian troops have continued to advance steadily in the eastern Donetsk region. In January, Ukraine closed its only coking coal mine outside the city of Pokrovsk, which Moscow’s forces are trying to capture.

Russia has occupied at least two Ukrainian lithium deposits during the war – one in Donetsk and another in the Zaporizhzhia region in the southeast. Kyiv still controls lithium deposits in the central Kyrovohrad region.

What opportunities does Ukraine offer?

Oleksiy Sobolev, first deputy economy minister, said in January that the government was working on deals with Western allies including the United States, Britain, France and Italy on projects related to exploiting critical materials. The government estimates the sector’s total investment potential at about $12-15 billion by 2033.

The State Geological Service said the government was preparing about 100 sites to be jointly licensed and developed but provided no further details.

Although Ukraine has a highly qualified and relatively inexpensive labour force and developed infrastructure, investors highlight a number of barriers to investment. These include inefficient and complex regulatory processes as well as difficulty accessing geological data and obtaining land plots.

Such projects would take years to develop and require considerable up-front investment, they said.

(By Olena Harmash; Editing by Kirsten Donovan and Neil Fullick)

Joint projects in the Arctic, as well as oil and gas and rare-earth minerals, are among the options being considered under a partnership the US would offer as part of a peace pact, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing matters that aren’t public.

Russia, encouraged by President Donald Trump’s talk of economic deals that could follow a peace agreement, is drawing up a list of projects and assets that officials hope might interest the US, according to people in Moscow involved in the effort. The ideas are collected by Kirill Dmitriev, President Vladimir Putin’s envoy for economic relations, who’s become a key conduit to the White House.

The two sides aren’t discussing plans directly at the moment, the people said. Any effort to rekindle economic ties would face enormous hurdles, from the thousands of sanctions still in place on Russia from the US and its Group of Seven allies to the Kremlin’s longstanding reluctance to allow foreign investors control in strategic sectors like energy.

The focus on possible business deals, especially in the energy sector, highlights the Trump administration’s transactional approach to foreign policy. If the agreements are realized, they could also leave US companies with a major role in the flow of gas, oil and electricity from Russia and Ukraine, including to Europe.

The effort follows on the heels of Trump’s push for a comprehensive investment agreement with Ukraine that would give the US a major role in projects to exploit the country’s mineral deposits and rebuild its infrastructure.

The US is driving for a quicker peace accord and has threatened to walk away from negotiations if the parties won’t agree to halt the hostilities. The US will demand that Russia accept Ukraine’s right to develop its own adequately equipped army and defense industry as part of a peace agreement, people said earlier this week, while Ukraine may be expected to give up some territory.

US envoy Steve Witkoff met with Putin in Moscow Friday for talks that the Kremlin described as constructive. Dmitriev participated in the meeting, according to state media.

“The way that Trump likes to frame politics is in reference points that he can understand like business, and for now the Russians are happy to go along with this,” said Emily Ferris, a senior research fellow in the International Security Studies department at the Royal United Services Institute in London.

The US proposed lifting sanctions on Moscow as part of any peace deal, according to people familiar with the situation, though that would also require agreement with the European Union as many of the most stringent restrictions have been imposed by the bloc.

The US sees economic incentives as a key element in persuading Putin in the drive for peace, according to the people.

“We do not confirm or deny details of ongoing negotiations. When the President has something to announce, we will announce it,” White House spokesman James Hewitt said in response to a request for comment for this article.

On Wednesday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio denied a report he and Witkoff had discussed lifting energy sanctions.

Trump posted on social media Apr. 20 that if Russia and Ukraine reach a deal, “BOTH WILL THEN START TO DO BIG BUSINESS WITH THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.”

Some Russian officials are hopeful they can establish an economic partnership with the US even if talks over ending the fighting in Ukraine collapse, one of the people close to the Kremlin said.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov didn’t respond to a request for comment. Dmitriev’s office declined for comment.

“Russia’s trade with China is currently about 70-fold larger than its trade with the US, so that naturally limits the available options,” said Maria Snegovaya, senior fellow at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies. Still, the White House could adopt a more flexible approach to sanctions enforcement, potentially allowing US energy companies to secure meaningful stakes in Russian energy ventures, including in the Arctic, she said.

One US proposal would see American control of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, which is now under Russian occupation, with the electricity output sent to both countries, the people said. Ukraine indicated that such an option at Europe’s biggest nuclear plant would come with numerous issues.

“If the US enters a format of managing this station, they will only be able to do so with the help of our technical personnel. Immediately, questions arise about access to water, infrastructure and security,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said earlier this week. It would be more acceptable if Ukraine and the US controlled the plant, though that option isn’t on the table, according to him.

The US has also discussed ways that the participation of American investors, either in production or transportation assets, might help restore some of Russia’s energy exports to Europe. The continent was Moscow’s largest market before the Kremlin’s February 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine but has since slashed its dependence on Russian supplies.

The US has indicated an interest in working with Russia on projects in the Arctic and cooperating with energy giant Gazprom PJSC, although those contacts were not on an official level, Bloomberg reported in March. It has also informally explored the possibility of working with Russia to resume natural gas deliveries to Europe that were halted by Ukraine this year, two people said. That’s especially complicated as many states diversified supplies away from Russia following the invasion of Ukraine and the EU is working on a roadmap to phase out Russian fossil fuels.

The idea of allowing US companies to get access to Russian energy or transport assets has been discussed internally in Moscow, said a top executive of one state entity working with Gazprom and Rosneft PJSC. Selling stakes in energy projects or companies to the Americans, ideally those close to Trump, could be strategically useful, as it may ease the sales and cross border payment processes, he said, adding that he’s expressing a personal view.

It’s unclear which American companies could be involved in investments in the Russian energy sector and past relationships have been bumpy. The US itself is also competing with Russia for the European LNG market.

The US wasn’t among Russia’s top 10 biggest foreign direct investors before the war in Ukraine. American business in Russia was driven by brands ranging from McDonald’s Corp and PepsiCo Inc to the Ford Motor Co, while its presence in the energy and commodities sectors was less visible.

There were also big losses after the invasion of Ukraine. Exxon Mobil Corp eventually lost the Sakhalin-1 oil and gas project as Putin signed a decree to transfer operations to a Russian entity.

Putin has also offered Russia’s rare earth deposits, following Trump’s repeated public expressions of interest in the critical minerals.

The Tomtor deposit in Yakutia in Russia’s far east is one potential candidate for cooperation with the US, one of the people close to the Russian government said. The deposit, one of the word’s biggest, in particular in niobium, is owned by former managers of the ICT Group since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and development was paused as sanctions prevented access to needed technologies.

American involvement in the project may help to resolve the issue as some sanctions could be eased, according to a person familiar with the situation. The deposit’s current owners weren’t available to comment.

Putin in November ordered to ensure the development of Tomtor either by its owners or with help from other investors or the state.

To be sure, even if a peace accord is reached to end the war in Ukraine, there’ll be a lot of political and economic uncertainty over the outlook for long-term investments in Russia.

“Many American companies lost a lot in Russia since 2014,” said Alexander Gabuev, director of the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center. “Any significant influx of investors from the US is a utopia.”

CHARTS: Rare earth export restrictions, price spikes and the risks of demand destruction

Speaking at a conference organized by the Hamm Institute for American Energy this week, Burgum said the Trump administration is exploring various investment strategies — including a sovereign wealth fund — to strengthen the US supply of critical minerals such as rare earths.

As first reported by CNBC, Burgum told the conference Wednesday the government should use its balance sheet to make investments and that the world’s largest economy should be able to have the biggest sovereign wealth fund.

However, such funds as held by Norway, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are fed by strong resource-rich export surpluses, which the US doesn’t have federally. Washington runs persistent budget deficits rather than surpluses, and the country’s political and structural preferences favour private capital markets over state-owned investment funds. Still, some states such as Alaska, Texas, California and New York control large investment funds.

Burgum, who previously served as the governor of North Dakota, said a government fund would be able to repay companies that invest in approved projects if changing political winds in Washington rescinded support.

Dominant China

China is the top global producer of 30 of the 50 minerals that the US Geological Survey considers to be critical. For rare earths, which comprises a group of 17 elements, it has a near monopoly over the global supply chain, accounting for over 60% of the mine production and nearly all of the processing.

The US, meanwhile, has limited domestic production and imported about 80% of the rare earths it used last year, with most of those coming from China.

Amid heightened trade conflicts between the world’s two biggest economies, China has weaponized its critical minerals dominance by imposing export restrictions on seven rare earths, highlighting the urgency for US to developing its own sources.

Fast-tracked projects

Last week, the White House identified 10 mining projects to be fast-tracked under the FAST-41 permitting initiative. These include projects covering copper, lithium and antimony in states such as Idaho, Arizona and Nevada.

On Wednesday, Burgum’s Interior Department announced that it will expedite the development of domestic energy resources and critical minerals. Under the new emergency permitting system, mine project approvals could be reduced from years down to just 28 days at most.

As part of its plan to boost domestic production of critical minerals, the Trump administration has also proposed to build metals refining facilities on Pentagon military bases as part of an executive order last month, Reuters previously reported.

As one of 10 initial US projects selected by the newly formed National Energy Dominance Council for placement on the Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council dashboard, the Stibnite project will have access to increased inter-agency transparency, coordination and oversight.

The Stibnite project, with its recently secured record of decision from the US Forest Service, is uniquely positioned to supply the critical mineral antimony, which is essential to national security and energy technology, the company said.

Antimony, a metal used to make solar panels, flame retardants and weapons, is imported into the US as there is currently no domestic production. China accounted for 60% of globally mined antimony in 2024, according to data from the US Geological Survey.

Last year, China banned exports of the metal to the US.

Perpetua said in March that it plans to submit a formal loan application to the US Export-Import Bank to advance the project after it received a letter of interest, which was non-binding, from EXIM for a loan worth up to $1.8 billion. If the loan is approved, the Stibnite project would be one of Washington’s largest investments ever in a mine. The final mining permit for the project was issued by the Biden administration.

“Being recognized as a transparency project by the White House underscores the immense strategic value of the Stibnite project,” said Perpetua CEO Jon Cherry said in a news release. “This selection validates the urgency and importance of our project for America’s economic and national security. We stand ready to restore the site and bolster American mineral independence.”

Perpetua entered into the formal permitting process under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) in 2016. The USFS issued a draft environmental impact statement in 2020, a supplemental draft environmental impact statement in 2022, a final environmental impact statement and draft record of decision in September 2024, and a final record of decision in January 2025.

The final federal decision, the US Army Corps of Engineers Clean Water Act 404 permit, is on track for a decision in the second quarter of 2025, Perpetua said.

In December last year, China banned exports to the US of the critical minerals gallium, germanium and antimony, amid an escalating trade and tech war between the world’s two biggest economies.

China produced almost half of the global supply of antimony in 2023 and prices of the mineral have soared in the wake of its heavy export restrictions, disrupting global supply chains.

US President Donald Trump has also been pushing to boost domestic production of critical minerals such as antimony, to offset China’s near total control of the sector.

The mineral is widely used in ammunition, infrared missiles, nuclear weapons and night-vision goggles, as well as in batteries and photovoltaic equipment.

Last year in March, United States Antimony had said it would discontinue all operational activities in Latin America and sell its subsidiary in Mexico.

The decision was made following a review of the financial performance of those assets, the unit’s negative cash flow and low antimony prices.

The company said it has begun processing the first antimony ore acquired from international sources at the Madero smelter. The second and third shipments are also expected to arrive at the facility from next week onwards.

US Antimony said it aims to produce roughly 200 tons of antimony per month from the Madero smelter prior to the end of 2025.

(By Vallari Srivastava; Editing by Sahal Muhammed)

Two weeks into the second quarter, the MINING.COM TOP 50* ranking of the world’s most valuable miners had a combined market capitalization of $1.36 trillion, up $79.7 billion so far in 2025.

The total stock market valuation of the world’s biggest mining companies remains almost $400 billion below the peak hit in the second quarter of 2022.

This snapshot was taken at the close of trading on April 17 and not at the start of Q2 as usual to avoid some of the market distortions brought on by the chaotic weeks following Trump’s on-again off-again tariffs.

This flatters the index to some extent as gold stocks rode the coattails of the record setting bullion price and almost all big names regained some ground after the severe sell-off during the first week of April.

Newcomers

The volatile trading saw the greatest number of new entries – six in all – in a quarter since MINING.COM started tracking the Top 50 six years ago. From $6.7 billion at the end of 2024, the lowest ranked entry must now be worth $8 billion.

Mining and metals arguably suffered some of the biggest swings and roundabouts as the economic effects of a trade war and the focus on critical minerals played havoc – exemplified by the volatility on copper markets.

The bellwether metal hit a record high in the US at the end of March, only to plunge more than 20% over the next week and a half and then make up a big chunk of those losses going into the long weekend.

Amid the hectic trading, copper producers and diversified companies with large base metal portfolios lost a combined $53 billion to April 17 and are now trading $205 billion below their collective peak end-Sep 2024 as the sector’s ranks thin.

Lundin Mining dropped out of the Top 50 during Q1 following another copper counter, Poland’s KGHM, which did not make the cut off in Q4 last year. Q1 was a mixed blessing for the Canadian mining empire with the copper producer making way for Lundin Gold, entering the Top 50 for the first time after doubling in value in USD terms to $10.1 billion in Toronto.

Huayou Cobalt’s inclusion proved to be short-lived while South32 failed to make the cut for the first time since being spun out of BHP a decade ago. The base metals sans copper producer sits at position 51 after being narrowly edged out by Shanjin International Gold, so the stock may well return if (and not necessarily when) profit-taking in gold and gold stocks starts to make sense.

Another notable mover of 2025 is Amman Mineral, the worst performer in the index which lost over $10 billion in value as reality about its piercing run since its debut in Jakarta early 2023 continues to set in. The Indonesian copper-gold company is now worth an eye-catching $20 billion less than its high point at the end of Q2 last year, even after investors ran up the stock more than 20% just in the last week.

Nothing counters gold

While the direction of the copper price over the last few months was almost impossible to judge, gold’s record breaking run looked inevitable. At $3,420 per ounce gold at the time of writing, the yellow metal has now finally also surpassed its 1980 peak in inflation-adjusted terms.

Unsurprisingly, precious metals counters dominate the best performer list and make up the majority of new entrants. Gold, silver and PGM miners and royalty companies now represent a third of the value of the Top 50. The strength in precious metals has also seen Canada overtake Australia for the first time in terms of the value of miners headquartered there.

At 22% of the index, the 13 Canadian companies collectively are worth a smidgen under $300 billion compared to $275 billion for the now eight Australian firms with the inclusion for the first time of Sydney-based gold stock Evolution Mining. In their current form Melbourne-based BHP and Rio Tinto have been the top two global mining stocks since the turn of the century, together worth $220 billion today.

The MINING.COM Top 50 tracks stock value in USD terms not share price gains on local exchange and many stocks in the ranking benefitted from strengthening currencies against the USD.

South Africa’s Harmony Gold tops the gainers after jumping 24 spots to enter the ranking at no 37 following a 117% advance since end-2024. Like Harmony, Goldfields also benefited from the strong rand against the greenback, lifting the Johannesburg-based company’s shares by 83% year to date.

Russia’s Polyus, which added $14.4 billion in Q1, was only beaten by the top two gold stocks Newmont and Agnico Eagle which added $18.6 billion and $19.9 billion year to date in market cap gains. The ruble has strengthened by 20% against the US dollar in 2025 and Norilsk Nickel, thanks to captive investors on the MCX, has maintained its good standing in the Top 50 despite sanctions and trading restrictions. Norilsk is still worth north of $20 billion but still a far cry from its peak position as the world’s number 5 most valuable mining company reached mid-2021.

London-listed Fresnillo returns to the index after years in the wilderness thanks to a 74% surge in value for the Mexican silver and gold miner, majority owned by Mexican industrial group Peñoles. Together with Southern Copper, owned by Grupo Mexico, the country now represents nearly 6% of the value of the Top 50.

Gold counters are likely to only increase in number and size over the rest of 2025. Kazatomprom dual-listed in London and Astana in 2018, and Uzbekistan is now readying an IPO for Navoi Mining and Metallurgy Combinat – the world’s fourth largest gold mining company and significant uranium producer later this year.

Rare earth representation

China Northern Rare Earth is the only producer of the 17 elements in the ranking and despite the frenzy surrounding the sector as China tightens control. There are no obvious REE candidates that could join the Top 50 in short order.

MP Materials, which operates the Mountain Pass mine in California, has surged by 69% in value year to date but the Las Vegas-based company is still worth only $4.3 billion.

The company’s valuation peaked above $8 billion in March 2022, but the whole mining industry was riding high at the time and the high price ticket for entry at the time meant it fell just outside the ranking. Australia’s Lynas Rare Earths have also come close in the past and is up 26% this year for a valuation of $5.3 billion.

Lithium down to a single stock

Lithium’s representation in the ranking is down from six companies to a single stock – Chile’s SQM languishing in position 42 and worth less than $10 billion – following the exit of China’s Tianqi and US-based Albemarle during the quarter, with the latter dropping by 38% in 2025.

The value destruction caused by the slump in lithium prices has been nothing short of astonishing. Lithium stocks in the index peaked in the second quarter of 2022 with a combined value of nearly $120 billion.

While Albemarle now worth $6.2 billion may well make a comeback (the longer term prospects for lithium demand remains bright), the absorption of Arcadium by Rio Tinto makes it unlikely that the Top 50 will see a rush of lithium stocks any time soon, a rebound of the commodity notwithstanding.

Zangge Mining, which does derive a good proportion of income from lithium, but is mostly a fertilizer producer, is bubbling under at number 53. The Chinese company may not stick around either – it’s the subject of takeover overtures by Zijing Mining, which also helps explain the 25% rise in the stock on the Shenzen exchange in USD terms.

Notes:

Source: MINING.COM, stock exchange data, company reports. Share data from primary-listed exchange at close April 17/18, 2025 close of trading converted to US$ where applicable. Percentage change based on US$ market cap difference, not share price change in local currency.

As with any ranking, criteria for inclusion are contentious. We decided to exclude unlisted and state-owned enterprises at the outset due to a lack of information. That, of course, excludes giants like Chile’s Codelco, Uzbekistan’s Navoi Mining (the gold and uranium giant may list later this year), Eurochem, a major potash firm, and a number of entities in China and developing countries around the world.

Another central criterion was the depth of involvement in the industry, and how far upstream is the bulk of its revenue, before an enterprise can rightfully be called a mining company.

For instance, should smelter companies or commodity traders that own minority stakes in mining assets be included, especially if these investments have no operational component or even warrant a seat on the board?

This is a common structure in Asia and excluding these types of companies removed well-known names like Japan’s Marubeni and Mitsui, Korea Zinc and Chile’s Copec.

Levels of operational or strategic involvement and size of shareholding were other central considerations. Do streaming and royalty companies that receive metals from mining operations without shareholding qualify or are they just specialized financing vehicles? We included Franco Nevada, Royal Gold and Wheaton Precious Metals on the basis of their deep involvement in the industry.

Vertically integrated concerns like Alcoa and energy companies such as Shenhua Energy or Bayan Resources where power, ports and railways make up a large portion of revenues pose a problem. The revenue mix also tends to change alongside volatile coal prices. Same goes for battery makers like China’s CATL which is increasingly moving upstream, but where mining will continue to represent a small portion of its valuation.

Another consideration is diversified companies such as Anglo American with separately listed majority-owned subsidiaries. We’ve included Angloplat in the ranking but excluded Kumba Iron Ore in which Anglo has a 70% stake to avoid double counting. Similarly we excluded Hindustan Zinc which is listed separately but majority owned by Vedanta.

With other groups like Mexico’s Penoles where refining and chemicals make up a substantial part of the business where possible the Top 50 would include separately listed operating subsidiaries that are dedicated to mining. This is also why Southern Copper represents Grupo Mexico in the ranking.

Many steelmakers own and often operate iron ore and other metal mines, but in the interest of balance and diversity we excluded the steel industry, and with that many companies that have substantial mining assets including giants like ArcelorMittal, Magnitogorsk, Ternium, Baosteel and many others.

Head office refers to operational headquarters wherever applicable, for example BHP and Rio Tinto are shown as Melbourne, Australia, but Antofagasta is the exception that proves the rule. We consider the company’s HQ to be in London, where it has been listed since the late 1800s.

Please let us know of any errors, omissions, deletions or additions to the ranking or suggest a different methodology: email Frik Els at fels@mining.com with Top 50 in the subject line.

The projects – which would supply copper, antimony and other minerals – have been granted FAST-41 status, a federal initiative launched in 2015 to streamline approvals of critical infrastructure.

The White House said it will add more projects.

The initial 10 are listed on a US federal website where their permitting progress can be publicly tracked, part of what the Trump administration calls a push for greater transparency and faster permitting.

“This transparency leads to greater accountability, ensuring a more efficient process,” the White House said in a statement.

The move boosts a proposed Idaho antimony and gold mine from Perpetua Resources, a proposed Arizona copper mine from Rio Tinto, a proposed Montana copper and silver mine from Hecla Mining, expansion of Albemarle’s Nevada lithium mine, an Arkansas direct lithium extraction project from Standard Lithium, and an Alabama metallurgical coal project from Warrior Met Coal, among others. Metallurgical coal is used to make steel.

Perpetua said it was “honored by this selection … which validates the urgency and importance of our project for America’s economic and national security.”

Rio said it believes its Resolution copper project in Arizona “is vital to securing America’s energy future and infrastructure needs with a domestic supply of copper.”

Albemarle said it looks “forward to further engaging with the administration as it seeks to advance a US lithium supply chain.”

Standard Lithium and Warrior were not immediately available to comment.

South32’s Hermosa zinc-manganese project in Arizona was fast-tracked by former President Joe Biden, the first mine to receive the FAST-41 treatment.

Trump earlier this week ordered a probe into potential new tariffs on all US critical minerals imports, a major escalation in his dispute with global trade partners and an attempt to pressure industry leader China.

(By Ernest Scheyder; Editing by Lisa Shumaker and Chris Reese)

The announcement comes after a Uzbek delegation was in Washington this week to meet with US business executives, according to the Central Asian country, although it did not list the interested companies or investment amounts.

“These agreements encompass investments in the exploration and extraction of minerals, including the construction of grinding machinery and training for Uzbek specialists,” the government based in the capital Tashkent said in a statement.

The deal follows a meeting Wednesday between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his Uzbek counterpart Bakhtiyor Saidov. Both nations signed a memorandum of understanding in September to enhance cooperation on critical minerals.

“There’s great potential ahead for investments between our countries and cooperation in the critical minerals and other sectors,” Rubio wrote on his X account following the meeting.

Uzbekistan has been looking to tap into its vast endowment resources, including many of the critical minerals being sought after by the US. Earlier this year, the Central Asian nation launched a $2.6 billion initiative to support the development of 76 mining projects covering 28 different elements.

“The main task is to extract valuable raw materials directly from ore using modern technologies, increase the purity of minerals and create products with high added value,” Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev stated at the time.

The US, meanwhile, wants to establish new strategic spheres in resource-rich regions such as Central Asia to counter China’s dominance in the critical minerals space. In addition to Uzbekistan, the Trump administration has also set sights on the mineral wealth of Pakistan, and this week sent a delegation to Islamabad.

Elsewhere, the White House is in discussions with war-ravaged Ukraine and the Democratic Republic of Congo on deals that would secure key minerals for batteries, defence and modern technologies in exchange for US security.

High-purity quartz is one of the few critical minerals dominated by the US, with the bulk of global production located around just one town in North Carolina. The Chinese discoveries, made several years ago, were announced Thursday by the Ministry of Natural Resources.

The timing of the announcement highlights Beijing’s desire to minimize leverage points the US may have in the fast-escalating trade war between the world’s two biggest economies. State-backed Xinhua News Service hailed the discovery for its potential to secure supply lines for Chinese high-tech industry.

The deposits were discovered in Henan in central China in December 2020, and in Xinjiang in the west in October 2021, the ministry said. No information was given on their size, nor the time and money that might be needed to develop them into productive mines.

High-purity quartz is important to both the solar and semiconductor industries, because it’s used to make the inner layer in crucibles that produce ultra-refined polysilicon wafers. Two mines near the town of Spruce Pine, North Carolina, account for more than 80% of the world’s supply of commercial high-purity quartz, BloombergNEF said in a report last year.

Read More: China flexes rare earth dominance with million-tonne discovery

Measured and indicated resources increased by almost 37% to 1.4 billion tonnes at 12% titanium dioxide (TiO₂) and 4,000 parts per million total rare earth oxides (TREO). These include measured resources of 367 million tonnes and indicated resources of 1 billion tonnes, both grading 12% TiO₂.

The total resource contains 165 million tonnes of TiO₂ and 5.5 million tonnes of TREO at a magnet rare earths oxide (MREO) ratio of 27%, for 1.5 million tonnes of MREO.

This MRE update, the company said, marks a significant milestone as it establishes the Tiros project as home to one of the world’s largest and most significant resources of both titanium dioxide and rare earths.

It also highlights a very high-grade mineralization zone, which will be the focus of the company’s initial scoping study and subsequent feasibility studies, along with the related economic assessments, Resouro added.

“The Tiros project continues to deliver amazing results, in terms of large tonnage of high TiO₂ and TREO grades within continuous near surface layer of friable material with constant grade and thickness,” Resouro executive chairman Chris Eager said in a news release.

“The next step is to work toward a proven and probable minable reserves from the 1.4 billion tonnes measured and indicated resource,” Eager said.

“The flat-lying layer of friable material at Tiros translates to ease of mine planning with no drilling or blasting and a low stripping ratio. This facilitates environmentally friendly cut and fill mining with continuous rehabilitation equating to low mining costs with consistent supply of tonnes and grade to a processing plant.”

By market close in Toronto, Resouro Strategic Metal’s stock was down 5%. The company has a C$17.6 million ($12.4 million) market capitalization.  

Indicated resources in Crater Lake’s TG zone are now estimated at 16.3 million tonnes grading 277.9 grams per tonne of scandium, Scandium Canada said Thursday. Inferred resources are estimated to be 20.9 million tonnes grading 271.7 grams per tonne, 31% more than previously calculated, the company also said.

Located 200 km northeast of Schefferville near Labrador, Crater Lake is regarded as one of the world’s largest primary scandium projects. The property covers 47 sq. km and is accessible via airplane or helicopter.

As it advances toward a prefeasibility study for Crater Lake, the company is holding talks with potential investors, indicating “strong interest” in its scandium and rare earth elements. It completed a preliminary economic assessment of the project in 2022.

“We continue to have discussions with potential strategic investors as well as off-takers of scandium, aluminum-scandium alloys and rare earth elements and are pleased with the interest we are getting,” Scandium Canada CEO Guy Bourassa said. “A project update will be issued shortly.”

Scandium Canada shares jumped 33% to C$0.02 in early trading Friday on the TSX Venture Exchange. That gave the company a market capitalization of C$6.2 million.

Potential increase

The new mineral resource estimate incorporates data from a 2024 drilling program, which consisted of seven drillholes with a cumulative length of 1,185 metres. Mineralization remains open laterally and at depth, demonstrating the potential to increase the mineral resource with additional drilling, Scandium Canada said.

Based on a net smelter return value of C$205.54 per tonne for potential open-pit extraction, the value of mineralization could range from C$369 to C$379 per tonne, Scandium Canada said.

Scandium is classified as a rare earth element. It can be combined with aluminium to produce an alloy that’s as strong as steel and titanium while weighing around one-third of steel.

Separately, Scandium Canada said yesterday it closed the first tranche of a previously announced non-brokered private placement by way of unsecured loan agreements. Gross proceeds, amounting to C$410,000, will be used for general administrative expenses and the development of aluminum-scandium powders.

China in February announced plans to impose export controls on five key metals — tungsten, tellurium, molybdenum, indium and bismuth — in response to US President Trump’s import tariffs.

Bismuth is a scarce industrial metal that has characteristics similar to lead, but is non-toxic, and the industry is currently developing uses for replacing lead.

But hardly any bismuth is currently being produced in North America. About 90% of global refined metal supply comes from China and about 80% of the mine production is in China — it’s a tale unfolding over and over in the metals markets — same scenario, different critical mineral.

NICO project

Fortune Minerals (TSX: FT) is a Canadian company developing its flagship NICO cobalt-gold-bismuth-copper deposit in Canada’s Northwest Territories, which it says contains 12% of global bismuth reserves as well as 1.1 million in-situ ounces of gold.

Last year, the company secured funding from both the Canadian and US governments. The domestic funding, from Natural Resources Canada, amounts to C$7.5 million ($5.5 million). This is expected to cover 75% of the C$10 million in additional engineering and test work for the project, Fortune said.

Separately, the company has been awarded $6.38 million by the US Department of Defense to expand the capacity and production of cobalt for the battery and high-strength alloy supply chain.

“The restrictions on exports coming from China mean that virtually 90% of the supply of this metal has been cut off — is that sustainable? No, but, but people have got to have it and are paying through the nose to get it. We’re receiving phone calls from all over the world – or emails, looking for sources of supply,” Fortune Minerals’ CEO Robin Goad told MINING.com in an interview.

“Historically, this project would normally be considered a cobalt-gold asset, but we’ve got extreme volatility right now in the prices for some of these metals,” Goad said.

Cobalt prices have also soared in March as concerns over supplies mounted after Eurasian Resources Group declared force majeure on deliveries because of a Democratic Republic of Congo ban on exports of the battery material. Last month Congo’s government suspended cobalt exports for four months to rein in oversupply and large surpluses, which had sent prices to nine-year lows.

“We have four metals, and the fact that we have significant gold in our asset as well provides some pretty strong mitigation of metal price volatility. So now we’re vertically integrated,” Goad pointed out.

Goad said the NICO will produce a bulk concentrate in the Northwest Territories to be transported to the railway at Enterprise Northwest Territories and then down to the proposed refinery site, in Lamont County, Alberta.

Fortune plans to contribute to a burgeoning critical minerals processing hub: Alberta’s Industrial Heartland Association has an existing petrochemicals processing hub, and in the same jurisdiction, Sherritt operates a nickel-cobalt refinery; Rio Tinto has a petroleum calcining operation to produce anodes for aluminum processing, while Umicore has a cobalt alloys plant — all in the same jurisdiction. The company is also collaborating on plans to build a refinery in the hub with Rio Tinto.

Tariff talk

While tariff talk is dominating headlines and disrupting markets, Goad does not anticipate that US funding and partnerships will be in jeopardy.

“To the best of our knowledge, it’s business as usual. I expect that some of the disputes happening between Canada and the United States will get resolved. I think we’re all hoping that, because it makes economic sense,” he said.

“Our economies are so interconnected that the US is pursuing a strategy that’s effectively shooting themselves in the foot. And yes, it hurts us more than it hurts them. 

“I think the US administration will figure that out. We do know critical minerals are very important to them,” Goad said. “And what’s happening in the bismuth market is a very good example of why we need shorter supply chains with more resiliency – and without the exposure to political policy risks.”

Goad draws a parallel to cobalt, for which mined production is beginning in North America, and plans for the continent’s first cobalt sulphate refinery were announced last week. It’s been a bumpy ride for Northern Ontario’s Electra Battery Materials, the company set to restart the build. A difficult financial situation forced a slowdown at the Temiskaming Shores plant, with construction coming to a grinding halt in 2023.

Path to development

The NICO project is an advanced-stage asset consisting of a proposed open pit and underground mine and concentrator. Anchoring the mine is a cobalt-gold-bismuth-copper deposit containing 33.1 million tonnes in reserves at grades of 0.11% cobalt, 1.03 g/t gold, 0.14% bismuth and 0.04% copper.

Fortune Minerals has published a full feasibility study and is currently working on an update.

Goad said the government funding is being used for an updated feasibility study, feed engineering, permits for the Alberta refinery site, and test work validation on some process improvements.

“The remaining authorizations we have in the Northwest territories: an environmental assessment, water license and a land use permit,” he said. “We have the major mine permits … the government money that we’re being provided is supposed to take our project to a construction decision, which we hope to be in June 2026.”

Launched in 2013, the BRI represents a massive global infrastructure development strategy adopted by the Chinese government to boost its trade, economic growth and regional influence. To date, China’s BRI spending has crossed $1.1 trillion, with the funds going towards key sectors such as mining, energy and transportation in partnership with 149 countries.

In 2024, mining maintained its status as a major area of focus under the initiative, accounting for 17.6% of last year’s total BRI-related investments, behind only energy’s 32.5%, GAI’s report shows. However, compared to the year before, when mining investment more than doubled to a then record of $19.4 billion, the sector’s share in 2024 is slightly down (from 21% in 2023).

Regionally, China’s engagement has been strong in various African countries, Bolivia and Chile in Latin America, and Indonesia, the report shows.

According to GAI, China already holds significant shares of global mining sources (over 80% of global graphite resources), and even more control in material processing (where across lithium, nickel, cobalt and graphite, China owns more than 50% of global capacity).

GAI’s report also notes that that Chinese firms are increasingly prioritizing equity investments in mining despite the high risks, while those in the energy sector mostly prefer to do construction deals, which are safer as they’re backed by financial institutions. Hence, construction deals have represented a larger share of BRI-related engagements, and in 2024, became much more abundant across every region except South Asia.

Like mining, China’s clean energy (solar, wind, hydropower) investments under the BRI also reached a record high of $11.8 billion. According to GAI’s estimates, this represents about 30% of last year’s total energy spend, which was the highest since 2017. The country also remained a large investor in fossil fuels (coal, oil and gas) abroad, led by a resurgence of coal mining, processing facilities and pipeline projects.

Looking ahead, GAI expects a further expansion of BRI investments and construction contracts in 2025, given the “clear need” to support the green energy transition in both China and in BRI countries. This, as it points out, provides continued opportunities for mining and minerals processing deals, technology deals and green energy — which China now refers to as the “New Three”.

But even as European policymakers work to build a future industrial base, they are facing a crisis in the region’s existing metals sector.

Chinese over-capacity and high energy prices have accelerated the long-term decline of European steel and aluminum production.

The latest threat, however, is coming from the United States. President Donald Trump’s tariffs, particularly the increased tariff on aluminum imports, risk displacing a flood of metal into Europe.

Europe’s response is shaping up to be equally protectionist, heralding more fracturing of global trade patterns.

Building for the future

Europe’s strategic projects qualify for fast-track progression through the permitting stage – a maximum 27 months for mine projects and 15 months for processing projects – and access to funding both at European and national level.

The list is heavily weighted towards battery inputs such as lithium, cobalt, nickel and graphite but also includes more esoteric elements such as gallium, germanium and tungsten. Fourteen out of 17 metals on the EU’s strategic metals list are represented.

The projects across 13 member states extend along the whole length of the supply chain from mining to processing to recycling and even materials substitution.

They should allow the EU to fully meet its 2030 domestic production benchmarks for lithium and cobalt and make “substantial progress” for other battery materials such as nickel, manganese and graphite.

In the case of gallium, used in semi-conductors and currently subject to Chinese export restrictions, METLEN’s project in Greece will cover the region’s needs by 2028.

There is more to come.

The European Commission received 46 applications for projects outside of the EU. A decision on the potential selection of such projects “will be decided at a later stage,” it said.

Current crisis

Europe’s bold ambitions for new energy metals stand in stark contrast to the dire problems facing its traditional metals production sectors.

EU steel output has declined from 160 million metric tons in 2017 to 126 million in 2023. Current steel capacity utilization of around 65% is unsustainable, the Commission said.

The region has lost a significant part of its primary aluminum production capacity for good and around half of what remains has been idled since 2021.

The Commission’s “Action Plan” identifies high power costs as a core problem for its industrial metals base. Power prices surged in 2022 after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and although they have since fallen, they remain higher than historical levels and well above those in the United States.

A range of solutions is proposed from facilitating more long-term power supply contracts to improving network efficiency and accelerating permitting for building more renewable grid capacity.

In the short term member states are called “to rapidly implement and make use of all the flexibilities (of state aid rules) to lower costs for energy-intensive industries.”

Tariff turbulence

The threat of metal diverted from the United States washing up in Europe has focused minds on how to prevent further contraction in Europe’s steel and nonferrous metals sectors.

Tighter steel import quotas could come as soon as next month, according to European Commission Executive Vice-President Stephane Sejourne.

A “melted and poured” rule, allowing the Commission to take action against the original producer of the metal rather than a third-party transformer, is under consideration.

Plans for import restrictions on aluminum are being fast-tracked with the Commission gathering “relevant evidence” in preparation for some sort of safeguard measures.

This is a race against time for many struggling operators.

Paul Voss, Director General of European Aluminium, has called for “immediate, targeted interventions to stabilize the sector now.”

One of those interventions would be to stem the flow of recyclable materials out of Europe.

Scrap wars

Although the US tariffs of 25% on aluminum imports have been presented as “without exceptions of exemptions”, they do not apply to the movement of scrap.

Aluminum scrap exports from the EU were already on track to hit a record of 1.3 million tons last year. That figure is likely to rise this year as more material goes to the United States, where processors can remelt it into aluminum products and pocket the tariff premium.

European copper recyclers are similarly worried that the threat of US copper tariffs is already pulling more units to the United States along with refined metal.

The Commission is promising to propose by the third quarter of the year appropriate trade measures to ensure more scrap stays in the EU.

That will include reciprocal measures on both those countries applying metals tariffs and on those that currently block exports of scrap.

Global scrap trading has so far been largely unaffected by geopolitics but that looks about to change.

Sense of urgency

The European Union is playing catch-up with the United States, when it comes to investing in critical metals capacity.

But the 27-member bloc has no equivalent of the presidential powers used by both the Joe Biden and Trump administrations.

The combination of strategic projects and metals action plan shows that the European Commission has woken up to the urgency of both building for the future and protecting what it already has.

But as both corporates and lobby groups have been quick to point out, words need to be followed by action.

Or to quote Voss from European Aluminium, “strategy alone won’t keep our operations running.”

(The opinions expressed here are those of the author, Andy Home, a columnist for Reuters.)

(Editing by Jane Merriman)

The European Commission this week published a list of 47 strategic projects, including in Greece, to boost the EU’s production of materials it deems critical for its energy transition and security. Gallium, which is also used in high-quality semiconductors, is among them.

“From 2028, Metlen will produce 50 tonnes of gallium fully covering EU demand,” Metlen’s president and chief executive officer Evangelos Mytilineos told journalists.

China, with a 98.8% share of refined gallium production, imposed restrictions on the export of the metal this year.

The Greek company, which already processes bauxite, plans to invest 300 million euros in the extraction of gallium from raw materials and hopes to expand its activity to rare-earth metal scandium and to germanium which has widespread military applications.

Commission Vice President Stephane Sejourne, who is responsible for defining the bloc’s industrial strategy, said during a visit to Metlen’s mines in Greece that EU will support the project.

“Greece can play an important role in critical minerals,” Sejourne told journalists.

(By Lefteris Papadimas; Editing by David Evans)

Trump’s executive order, signed Thursday, leverages the Defense Production Act to provide financing, loans, and other investment support for domestic processing of critical minerals and rare earth elements.

The order also underscores the historical significance of US mining and the need for a stable, predictable supply of essential minerals, including copper and gold, for defense, technology and infrastructure. It also directs federal agencies to expedite approvals for domestic mineral production projects.

By 12:39 p.m. ET, Northern Dynasty’s shares had climbed 32% to C$1.73, pushing the company’s market capitalization to C$908 million ($634 million), with investors expecting that the order could fast-track its flagship Pebble project in Alaska.

Controversial copper project

Northern Dynasty’s Pebble project is considered the world’s largest undeveloped copper deposit. Alongside significant amounts of gold, molybdenum and silver, the deposit contains a notable rhenium resource, a mineral critical for military applications.

However, the project has faced strong opposition for nearly two decades due to its potential environmental impact. The proposed mine site lies in the Bristol Bay region, home to the world’s largest sockeye salmon fisheries.

In January 2023, the US Environmental Protection Agency blocked the project by prohibiting Northern Dynasty’s US subsidiary from storing mine waste in the Bristol Bay watershed. The company has since filed a complaint, arguing that the EPA’s decision violates federal statutes, including Alaska’s statehood rights and a land exchange approved by Congress.

Over an estimated 20-year mine life, Pebble is expected to churn out 6.4 billion lb. of copper; 7.4 million oz. of gold and 300 million lb. of molybdenum, plus 37 million oz. of silver and 200,000 kg of rhenium.

In its annual report, the miner said EXIM would determine if a final loan commitment might be issued.

Perpetua had received a letter of interest, which was non-binding, from EXIM for a loan worth up to $1.8 billion to develop its antimony and gold mine, Reuters reported in April last year.

If the loan is approved, the Stibnite project would be one of Washington’s largest investments ever in a mine. The final mining permit for the project was issued in the last leg of former President Joe Biden’s presidency.

Antimony, a metal used to make solar panels, flame retardants and weapons, among other things, is imported into the US as the country does not have its own source.

China accounted for 60% of globally mined antimony in 2024, according to data from the US Geological Survey.

In December last year, China banned exports of the metal to the US.

The Stibnite mine would aid the United States’ move to boost domestic production of critical minerals and offset China’s control of the sector.

Perpetua’s mine could supply more than 35% of America’s annual antimony needs once it opens by 2028.

(By Seher Dareen; Editing by Shreya Biswas)

According to FT’s analysis of government publications, at least half of the 34 provincial governments have given additional subsidies or expanded access to mineral exploration companies over the past year. These include top resource-producing regions such as Xinjiang, which increased its spending on exploration to 650 million renminbi ($90 million) this year from 150 million ($21 million) in 2023.

Since 2022, the nation as whole has devoted $13.8 billion to geological exploration annually — the highest investment over a three-year period in a decade, FT estimates.

A director at China’s natural resources ministry told reporters recently that “a series of major breakthroughs in mineral exploration have been achieved,” which would significantly enhance the nation’s ability to “ensure the safety of important industrial chains and supply chains.”

In January, the China Geological Survey (CGS) confirmed that Chinese geologists have found what could be the largest medium and heavy rare earths deposit in the country, containing over 1 million tonnes in resources.

In the same month, the CGS also announced the discovery of a 2,800-km belt in Western China that it says could “reshape the distribution pattern of lithium resources” and more importantly, has elevated China as the second-largest holder of lithium resources in the world.

Tightening grip

The heightened focus on minerals stems from President Xi Jinping’s repeated emphasis on self-reliance in science and high technology, which requires China to tighten its control over key raw materials used across a variety of applications.

Currently, China is the world’s largest producer of 30 of the 44 minerals deemed as “critical” by the US government for their indispensable roles in the manufacturing of semiconductors, electric vehicles and weapons.

To the US and other Western powers, China’s dominance in the critical minerals supply chain gives it the geopolitical leverage in global trade relations. Amid escalating trade tensions over the past year, China has already curbed its exports of many strategic minerals including gallium, germanium, antimony, graphite and tungsten.

Xi’s government has also enacted policies aimed at protecting its wealth of strategic resources, including a move in 2021 to block foreign companies from investing in the mining of tungsten, rare earths and uranium.

China has also been looking to exert its control over minerals beyond its borders.

Earlier this year, FT reported that the Chinese government, through state-backed entities, has issued $57 billion in loans to support the mining and processing of copper, cobalt, nickel, lithium and rare earths across the developing world.

Prices of bismuth have jumped to $40 a lb on the European spot market, an all-time high, up from $6 per lb in late January, a more than six-fold rise.

In the United States, bismuth prices are even higher – at $55 a lb compared with $6.5-$7 before China’s export curbs.

Traders said US prices were also higher because of the tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump on imports from top producer China.

China in February announced plans to impose export controls on five key metals — tungsten, tellurium, molybdenum, bismuth and indium — in response to Trump’s import tariffs.

“At the moment there are no supply sources to fully replace Chinese material,” commodity analysts with business intelligence company CRU Group told Reuters.

“As much of the supply tightness is based on policy, it can ease very quickly. But assuming a full stop of Chinese bismuth exports, new capacity ex-China would be necessary.”

According to the US Geological Survey (USGS), China was responsible for producing around 13,000 metric tons of mined bismuth last year or more than 80% of the global total. The rest comes from countries such as Japan, South Korea and Laos.

Prices have risen significantly, making it risky to ship materials for stockpiling since delivery takes about two months and no one knows where the market will be by then, said a Europe-based trader.

“This situation is causing a very low unsold inventory level internationally, keeping the price for prompt material at a very high level,” he added.

Meanwhile, the most active bismuth contract on the Wuxi Stainless Steel Exchange was trading at 163,800 yuan ($22,677) per metric ton on Tuesday, 105% higher than at the beginning of the year.

(By Ashitha Shivaprasad, Anmol Choubey and Amy Lv; Editing by Pratima Desai and Mark Potter)

The ambitious initiative was unveiled on March 7 during a presentation by President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, who laid out plans to develop 76 projects covering 28 different elements.

“The main task is to extract valuable raw materials directly from ore using modern technologies, increase the purity of minerals and create products with high added value,” Mirziyoyev said in his statement.

To date, the Central Asian nation has identified significant deposits of critical minerals such as tungsten, lithium, titanium and vanadium, most of which have yet to be developed due to a lack of investment. These elements, according to Mirziyoyev, will be the focus of the billion-dollar initiative amid rising global interest for the roles they play in advanced technologies.

Golden opportunity

Uzbekistan also hosts huge gold deposits, which Navoi Mining and Metallurgical Co. hopes to develop as it works towards an initial public offering (IPO) in this year’s third quarter. Its Muruntau mine in the Kyzylkum Desert hosts probable reserves of 45 million oz., 68 million indicated oz. and 33 million inferred oz., which could make it the world’s largest gold deposit, according to Navoi.

The $2.6 billion funding will be directed towards building the necessary infrastructure and skills to leverage modern mining technologies. This will involve the creation of technology hubs in the Tashkent and Samarkand regions to train specialists in using new technologies and promote best mining practices.

“For example, enrichment of tungsten concentrate from the Ingichka deposit will double the added value,” Mirziyoyev noted.

Geopolitical currents

This strategy not only allows Uzbekistan to tap into its vast wealth of minerals, reducing its dependency on major players like China, but also for the country to establish its own manufacturing capabilities.

It also aligns with the interests of the Trump administration, which is looking to expand US access to critical minerals around the world. In a call last month, Secretary of State Marco Rubio stressed that the US is eager to take advantage of “mutually beneficial opportunities for investment in critical minerals.”

Several high-level meetings with Uzbek officials had already taken place during the Biden administration. This resulted in the signing of a memorandum of understanding in September 2024 to collaborate on critical minerals through bolstering Uzbekistan’s mining sector.

“The document serves as an important step in continuing the US-Uzbekistan dialogue on exploration, mining, and value-added product chain development,” the Uzbek Ministry of Mining Industry and Geology stated a press release at the time.

The seven-to-eight-year wait to obtain licenses for mineral projects ends up “cooling” interest in investments, Raul Jungmann, the chief executive officer of Ibram, said at the Brazilian Development Bank’s strategic minerals conference Monday in Rio da Janeiro.

Big miners are expected to invest $68.4 billion in Brazil between 2025-2029, a figure that could be higher if the permitting process were streamlined, Jungmann said, the former head of the Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources. Other countries take half to one-third of the time Brazil does to approve licenses, he added.

Brazil holds the world’s largest niobium reserves, the second-largest graphite reserves and the third-largest reserves of rare earth elements and nickel. The country also is a top iron ore producer and home of Vale SA.

To be sure, Brazil is known to have independent regulators with stricter environmental and safety standards than other regions. And miners aren’t the only commodity producers growing uneasy with regulations.

Brazil’s state-controlled oil producer Petrobras has been waiting since 2020 to get approval start drilling at Foz do Amazonas basin, which it expects to be a new key offshore frontier. Chief executive officer Magda Chambriard said last month Petrobras has been facing more difficulties with Ibama than with the oil and gas regulator, which recently shut off one of Petrobras’s production vessels.

(By Mariana Durao)

Trump also repeated his assertion in an interview on Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures that Zelenskiy was ungrateful in their acrimonious White House meeting on Feb. 28, which stymied the resources agreement and Trump’s ceasefire diplomacy. After intense US pressure on Zelenskiy to stop fighting, Ukrainian and US officials are meeting in Saudi Arabia this week to resume discussions.

Asked whether he expects Zelenskiy to come back and sign the resources deal, Trump said, “Yes, I think so. I think it’ll happen.”

Zelenskiy “took money out of this country under Biden like candy from a baby,” Trump said, referring to former President Joe Biden. “And I just don’t think he’s grateful.”

Trump’s administration says the proposed deal on critical minerals represents a US economic commitment to Ukraine’s security as Trump presses Zelenskiy to agree to a ceasefire with Russia. Trump’s policy shifts have raised concern in Europe about how to protect Ukraine militarily in the future.

Asked whether he’d be “comfortable” if Ukraine didn’t survive as an independent country, he said Ukraine “may not survive anyway.”

“But we have some weaknesses with Russia,” he added. “You know, it takes two.”

Since the White House blowup, Trump suspended military aid and intelligence assistance in an effort to persuade Zelenskiy to agree to a truce that would enable negotiations to halt the three-year Russian invasion.

Zelenskiy said Thursday he was open to a ceasefire if Russia agreed to halt air strikes and naval operations in the first sign he’s willing to consider a halt to the fighting.

(By María Paula Mijares Torres)

Read More: As Trump and Zelenskiy clash, Ukraine minerals bonanza remains distant prospect

Larvotto Resources Ltd. is due to start a mine in Australia next year, offering a rare new stream of output from a Western nation in an antimony industry dominated by China and Russia. Prices of the metal are nearly four times higher than a year ago, after Beijing tightened exports of critical materials, triggering a scramble for supplies across high-tech and defense industries.

Antimony-lead alloys are used in bullet cores, explosives and shrapnel weapons. Ukraine’s Western military backers have drawn on ageing inventory that will now need replaced, Larvotto’s managing director Ron Heeks said in an interview.

“The antimony and lead from these munitions would normally be recycled into new weapons, but those have gone to the front line in Ukraine,” Heeks said.

Military applications remain a small segment of antimony’s demand, which is dominated by flame retardants, lead-acid batteries and the chemicals industry. Excluding the batteries, the world needs about 120,000 tons a year and it’s only producing about 80,000 tons, Heeks said.

China in December slapped a ban on US-bound exports of antimony, gallium and germanium, flexing its strong grip on strategic materials. While US President Donald Trump is pursuing an end to the Ukraine war, his America-first foreign policy is spurring European nations to ramp up defense spending — including on munitions.

China, Russia and Tajikistan produce about 87% of the world’s mined antimony supply, according to Mandalay Resources Corp., which operates a mine in Australia that counts for just 2%, and where output is declining.

The Biden administration last November gave initial approval to a proposed mine in Idaho that was part-funded by the Defense Department to generate domestic supplies. Larvotto’s Hillgrove project will be Australia’s biggest antimony mine, supplying as much as 7% of global demand, according to the company.

(By Paul-Alain Hunt)

The Dublin-based miner’s board unanimously rejected a non-binding proposal from a consortium comprised of Oryx Global Partners and former managing director Michael Carvill at 530 pence per share, saying it “undervalued Kenmare’s business and its prospects,” according to a Thursday statement.

Carvill stepped down from Kenmare’s board in August 2024 and currently serves as a consultant.

The proposed deal represents a premium of 92.7% to Kenmare’s closing price of 275 pence on March 5, according to Bloomberg’s calculations. The offer would value the company at £472.9 million ($609 million).

Kenmare’s shares traded in London were up 44% as of 12:14 p.m. local time, after rising as much as 52% to 417.5 pence earlier in the biggest intraday move since December 2015. The company’s shares traded at a peak of 12,510 pence in 2012, but plunged over the following few years during a downturn in its markets.

The company, which operates the Moma titanium minerals mine in Mozambique, has agreed to grant the consortium access to limited due diligence information in order to “facilitate” an improvement in the financial terms of the proposal.

The consortium has until 5 p.m. on April 17 to either announce a firm offer or walk out from the deal.

(By Gabriela Mello)

Addressing a joint session of Congress on Tuesday night, Trump read out part of what he said was the letter from President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. It echoed a social media post he wrote earlier Tuesday voicing regret over how the Oval Office meeting with Trump played out and saying he was ready to sign the natural-resources deal that was scrapped after the encounter.

“I appreciate that he sent this letter,” Trump said. “Just got it a little while ago.”

The president’s remarks signaled that he may be warming back up to the Ukrainian leader and will revive the deal. But it fell short of a goal shared by Ukraine and some members of his own team that he might announce during the speech that the deal was back on.

People familiar with the president’s stance had said earlier that the White House supports moving ahead with the agreement to share revenue from Ukraine’s natural resources — a key US demand in return for Washington’s continued support for Kyiv. The people asked not to be identified discussing private information.

Rapprochement over the mineral deal would mark a fresh reversal for Trump after a chaotic few days that fanned fears the US support for Ukraine had reached a breaking point. Late Monday, Trump ordered a pause to all US military aid to Ukraine, a move that alarmed allies. Indeed, any progress on the deal depends on buy-in from the famously mercurial leader.

But US Vice President JD Vance and National Security Advisor Mike Waltz both signaled optimism about finalizing the US—Ukraine agreement, which calls for 50% of its future resource revenues to go into a US-managed investment fund, part of Trump’s pledge to recoup taxpayer money that helped Kyiv resist Moscow’s invasion.

“I think the president is still committed to the mineral deal,” Vance told reporters at the Capitol on Tuesday. “The mineral deal is a really important part of the president’s policy.” As to the resumption of military aid, Vance said, “when the Ukrainians come to the negotiating table, everything is on the table.”

Trump didn’t mention the aid pause during his speech. But he said the US had had “serious discussions” with Russia.

“It’s time to end the senseless war,” he said. “If you want to end wars, you have to talk to both sides.”

The agreement, which doesn’t include any US security guarantees against future Russian aggression, was originally intended to be signed last week. That plan unraveled spectacularly after Zelenskiy argued on camera with Trump and Vance during a meeting, leading Trump’s team to eventually kick Zelenskiy and his entourage out of the White House and call off the signing.

In his social media post Tuesday, Zelenskiy said that he’s ready to work speedily to end Russia’s war on Ukraine, stressing that his dramatic falling out with Trump over the path toward peace was “regrettable.”

Trump’s weapons-pause order applies to all US military equipment not currently in Ukraine, including weapons in transit on aircraft and ships or waiting in transit areas in Poland.

The impact of the order was felt immediately along the Polish border with Ukraine at a key airport, which serves as a transit hub for the transport of weapons and medical supplies. European allies were blindsided by the move. Senior British officials were unaware of the plan late Monday, despite a series of phone calls between members of the UK and US cabinet in recent days.

“This of course is putting Ukraine and Poland in a more difficult situation,” Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Tuesday. “But we have to cope with this situation. So there is no point in being offended by reality here.”

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer lauded Zelenskiy’s “steadfast commitment” to peace in a phone call Tuesday as he sought to reconnect the leaders. Starmer, who hosted the Ukrainian and fellow European leaders at the weekend and has been in regular contact with Trump, briefed Zelenskiy on discussions with Trump on Monday.

“It was vital that all parties worked towards a lasting and secure peace for Ukraine as soon as possible,” the prime minister’s office said in a statement.

European allies have been racing to come up with plans to keep Ukraine supplied with weapons, as well as to provide peacekeeping forces for a deal. Yet Europe lacks many of the arms and other capabilities that the US now provides. Allied officials have said supplies of weapons are likely to last only until summer.

The European Union is meanwhile proposing extending €150 billion ($158 billion) in loans to boost defense spending, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in Brussels.

Zelenskiy in his post again hinted at the matter of security guarantees — an insistence that riled Trump and Vance, but which Ukraine sees as for a peace deal to be lasting.

“Regarding the agreement on minerals and security, Ukraine is ready to sign it in any time and in any convenient format,” Zelenskiy said. “We see this agreement as a step toward greater security and solid security guarantees, and I truly hope it will work effectively.”

(By Jenny Leonard, Daniel Flatley, Daryna Krasnolutska and Nick Wadhams)

In a letter to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Congo asked for an urgent meeting between Presidents Felix Tshisekedi and Donald Trump to discuss a pact that would give American companies access to some of the most coveted minerals for the energy transition.

“As the world’s largest supplier of cobalt and a major producer of lithium, tantalum and uranium, the DRC’s resources are integral to US industrial competitiveness and national security,” an Africa-US business group lobbying on Congo’s behalf said in the letter. A partnership “presents a unique opportunity for the United States to establish a reliable and exclusive supply chain.”

The invitation to exploit Congo’s vast resources shows Tshisekedi has become increasingly desperate in his fight against Rwanda, which supports a rebel group that’s threatened to overthrow his government and seized a wide swath of the country’s mineral-rich east.

The Trump administration is “open to discussing partnerships in this sector,” the US State Department said in an email. “Partnerships with US companies will strengthen both US and DRC economies.”

But any deal is likely a long way off. Trump’s predecessor, Joe Biden, struggled to interest US firms in Congo’s minerals amid concerns about corruption, environmental degradation and labor issues. The US has also been reluctant to assist Congo’s military, which has been accused of human-rights abuses.

Tricky negotiations

“For the DRC, this would likely involve lengthy, tricky renegotiations of mining contracts, while it is difficult to see the Trump administration being able to mobilize US investors,” said Joshua Walker, program director for the Congo Research Group at New York University’s Center on International Cooperation. “And it is still unclear whether the new administration will commit significant resources to ending Rwandan aggression in the DRC.”

The letter was one of several sent to senior US officials last month, offering a Congolese deal similar to the Trump administration’s proposed minerals-for-security arrangements with Ukraine, which fell apart last week.

Congo’s mining industry, which is also the world’s second-biggest source of copper, is dominated by Chinese companies. A tie-up with the US would allow Tshisekedi to “shift away from China’s dominant influence and strengthen economic ties with the West,” the lobby group said.

The letter offers US companies operational control and “exclusive extraction and export rights.” It also proposes involvement in a planned deep-water port on Congo’s Atlantic coast and the establishment of a joint strategic mineral stockpile.

In exchange, the US would provide training and equipment for Congo’s armed forces as well as direct security assistance. It would have access to military bases “to protect strategic resources.”

The letter, disclosed on the Foreign Agents Registration Act website, was sent by lobbyist Aaron Poynton of the Africa-USA Business Council on behalf of Pierre Kanda Kalambayi, chair of the Congolese Senate’s Committee on Defense, Security and Border Protection.

Similar letters were also addressed to the heads of the House and Senate Foreign Relations Committees, Republican Senator Ted Cruz, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Republican Representative Rob Wittman, who chairs the House Critical Minerals Policy Working Group.

(By Michael J. Kavanagh)

Read More: Trump hopes to announce Ukraine deal in address to Congress

The speech – similar to a State of the Union address but not called that because Trump was only inaugurated in January – is set to take place inside the US House of Representatives at 9:10 p.m. ET (0210 GMT on Wednesday).

It takes place in the same chamber where lawmakers huddled in fear for their lives four years earlier while a mob of Trump supporters ransacked the Capitol in an unsuccessful effort to overturn Democrat Joe Biden’s 2020 victory over the then-incumbent Trump.

The event promises to have a raucous element with Republican lawmakers cheering on Trump and Democrats expressing their opposition to what he lists as his achievements.

A former TV showman with a flair for the dramatic, Trump surprised the audience at his 2020 State of the Union speech by presenting the late talk show radio host Rush Limbaugh with a Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Trump appeared to be preparing for another dramatic flourish: the signing of a rare minerals deal between the US and Ukraine that the president has made the cornerstone of his proposed peace plan to end the Ukraine conflict.

The signing of the deal was aborted last week after a shouting match between Trump and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy at the White House.

Four sources told Reuters the Trump administration and Ukraine planned to sign the deal on Tuesday. Three of the sources said Trump has told his advisers he wants to announce the agreement in his address to Congress. They cautioned that the deal had yet to be signed and the situation could change.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Trump on Monday suspended all US military aid to Ukraine, a heavy blow to Kyiv in its efforts to fight Russia which launched a full-scale invasion in 2022.

“President Trump’s joint address will be MUST-SEE TV,” said White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, who predicted the speech could stretch past one hour in length.

While Democrats are not planning a broad boycott of the speech, Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut was among those who said he would not attend, calling the event “a farce.”

A senior White House official said the theme of Trump’s speech is the “renewal of the American dream” and that he will “outline his plans to restore peace around the world.”

The official said among his topics will be laying out his plans to end the Ukraine war and gain the release of hostages held by Hamas militants in Gaza.

Trump is also expected to use his speech to laud his rapid-fire efforts to slash the size of the federal bureaucracy, reduce the flow of migrants over the US-Mexico border, and his use of tariffs to force foreign nations to bow to his demands.

Speech follows new tariffs

Trump was due to speak less than 24 hours after a fresh round of punishing tariffs takes effect against Canada and Mexico, sparking fears of an escalating trade war and unnerving financial markets.

On the domestic front, Trump is likely to use the speech to make a case for extending his 2017 tax cuts. Congressional Republicans have advanced a sweeping $4.5 trillion plan to do just that, as well as addressing Trump’s other priorities by tightening border security and funding a huge increase in deportations.

The proposal calls for $2 trillion in spending reductions over a decade, with possible cuts to education, healthcare and other social services.

Musk to attend

Republican strategist Doug Heye said viewers will be listening for specifics about Trump policies.

“With this constant churning of news, voters are going to want to hear about obviously Ukraine, Russia and China, what the DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency) cuts mean, what specifics there may be that can allay some concerns,” he said.

Trump has issued a blizzard of executive orders since taking office on January 20 as he attempts to set new rules on everything from trade and immigration to plastic straws and English as the official language of the United States.

At the same time, allies in the Justice Department have fired or sidelined top officials who helped to prosecute Trump supporters who took part in the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol. Trump has also fired agency inspectors-general and taken other steps to remove oversight over the operations of his government.

The senior White House official said Trump will push Congress to pass more funding for deportations and to continue building the border wall with Mexico.

First lady Melania Trump will be joined at the address by a number of selected guests as is customary. These include the family of Corey Comperatore, a firefighter who was killed by the gunman who also grazed Trump with a bullet during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, last July.

Others include Marc Fogel, a history teacher freed from detention in Russia in February.

Trump spent part of the weekend at his Florida home crafting the speech with advisers, including ally and billionaire Elon Musk, according to an aide with knowledge of Trump’s schedule.

Musk will attend the Tuesday night speech, a White House official said.

Trump has upended the federal government since taking office, working with Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency to jettison more than 100,000 federal workers across dozens of agencies.

Democrats plan to underscore the harm they say Trump’s policies have on everyday Americans by inviting civil servants hit by DOGE firings or funding freezes to Tuesday’s speech.

Senator Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, a former CIA agent, will deliver the Democratic Party’s rebuttal.

(Reporting by Erin Banco, Gram Slattery, Andrea Shalal, Steve Holland, Gabriella Borter, Richard Cowan and Trevor Hunnicutt; Writing by Joseph Ax and Steve Holland; Editing by Colleen Jenkins, Ross Colvin and Alistair Bell)

Read More: As Trump and Zelenskiy clash, Ukraine minerals bonanza remains distant prospect

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy is set to meet with US President Donald Trump today to sign a critical minerals deal as a way of securing continued US backing in the war against Russia.

It initially started as a rare earths deal before someone realized that Ukraine doesn’t actually have too much in the way of these 17 esoteric metals.

The draft text on the proposed Reconstruction Investment Fund therefore simply refers to “deposits of minerals, hydrocarbons, oil and gas”.

Mortgaging Ukrainian security against its mineral wealth comes with a long-dated pay-back.

The clue is in the word “deposits”. Finding mineral deposits is the easy part. Mining them is more difficult. Processing them is more difficult still.

But the deal is a sign that after a century of oil politics we’re now entering a new age of metal politics.

What lies beneath the surface?

If Ukraine has a lot of rare earths, it’s news to the US Geological Survey, which doesn’t include the country in its list of either top producers or largest reserves.

The handful of rare earth deposits that Ukraine hosts haven’t been surveyed since Soviet times.

In mining terms, we don’t even know the size or composition of the resource, let alone whether it could qualify as a reserve deemed economically viable for extraction.

Ukraine does have confirmed reserves of other critical metals such as titanium and lithium but getting them out of the ground is a whole bigger challenge.

Mining requires infrastructure and power, both in short supply in Ukraine after three years of war.

Even assuming any deposits can be mined profitably, there’s the not so little question of how to process raw material into metal.

China dominates so many critical mineral supply chains not because it has the largest ore reserves but because it has mastered the mid-stream part of the production cycle.

It’s also starting to leverage this technical know-how by restricting exports of critical metal processing technology, making it even harder for the West to catch up.

In short, it’s going to be a good while before Ukraine can deliver on its part of the minerals deal by monetizing what is still in the ground.

Metals revolution

China’s dominance is why the United States and Europe are so desperate to secure their own critical mineral supply chains.

But it’s a metallic revolution that is driving that hunger.

A 20th century landline telephone only needed a length of copper wire to work. An Apple iPhone still contains copper but it also needs aluminum, cobalt, gold, lithium, tin, tungsten and a sprinkling of rare earths for you to be able to make a call.

Now consider what goes into a more advanced bit of technology such as an F-35 stealth fighter jet.

Metals are no longer just bits of hard stuff to bang into shape but are used in increasingly complex combinations in what is more akin to inorganic chemistry than traditional metal-working.

The poster-child for modern metallurgy is the lithium-ion battery, which comes in multiple chemistries each using a slightly different combination of metal inputs.

The first commercial battery only appeared in 1991 but the technology has rapidly evolved to become the core driver of the transition to electric vehicles, which is why the West is racing to build out its own battery metals supply chain.

And while Trump may not think much of electric vehicles, he knows how important metals are to the US military. Indeed, it was Trump in his first term who declared critical minerals a national emergency.

Metallic poker

Critical metals have become the new bargaining chip on the geopolitical card table.

Trump has also set his sights on Greenland, which does have accredited reserves, including of rare earths, but which is behind even Ukraine in having the infrastructure to get them out of the ground.

Vladimir Putin has been quick to join the metallic poker game, pointing out that Russia boasts considerably more rare earths than Ukraine if the United States is interested.

He’ll even throw in two million tonnes of primary aluminum a year since he’s heard the United States might be a bit short of the stuff if it goes ahead and puts tariffs on imports from Canada, its largest supplier.

Which rather begs the question of whether Trump may not be better looking closer to home if he’s really that keen on getting rare earths and other critical metals.

Canada has lots of them, is a mining friendly jurisdiction and has extensive metals processing capacity.

But Trump seems to have thrown out the previous administration’s concept of “friend-shoring”. Or maybe it’s the list of friends that has changed.

Either way, the minerals deal with Ukraine is unlikely to be the last of its kind.

As metals become a geopolitical currency, Ukraine is not the only country looking to play the metals card.

The Democratic Republic of Congo is trying and failing to fight back the M23 rebel group, which has seized the two largest cities in the east of the country.

The country’s president Felix Tshisekedi touted a Ukraine-style deal in an interview with the New York Times, offering future supplies of the country’s critical minerals, particularly cobalt, for Western assistance.

Such is the new age of metals diplomacy.

You’re going to be hearing a lot more about a bunch of elements in the periodic table that you’ve never heard of, even though you’re using them every day.

(Editing by Christina Fincher)

Congo filed criminal complaints against Apple subsidiaries in France and Belgium, its lawyers said in December. Apple said then it strongly disputed the allegations and had told its suppliers they must not use the minerals in question sourced from Congo or Rwanda.

In the document seen by Reuters and dated February 18, the Paris prosecutor’s office said allegations of money laundering and deceptive business practices were “not sufficiently well-founded” and closed the case – meaning it will not proceed with the complaint.

The office invited Congo to contact a different office “with jurisdiction over war crimes”.

The prosecutor’s office and Apple did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment on Thursday.

William Bourdon and Vincent Brengarth, lawyers working for Congo in France, described the decision as a “very partial dismissal” that they intended to challenge, citing the “extreme seriousness of the facts denounced and the need to identify and prosecute those responsible.”

Congo is a major source of tin, tantalum and tungsten, so-called 3T minerals used in computers and mobile phones. Some artisanal mines are run by armed groups involved in massacres of civilians, mass rapes, looting and other crimes, according to UN experts and human rights groups.

Since the 1990s, Congo’s mining heartlands in the east have been devastated by waves of fighting between armed groups, some backed by neighbouring Rwanda, and the Congolese military.

The complaints filed in France and Belgium were prepared on behalf of Congo’s justice minister. Belgium appointed an investigating magistrate in response, a lawyer for Congo said in January.

(By Sonia Rolley and Robbie Corey-Boulet; Editing by Christina Fincher and Andrew Heavens)

Read More: Middlemen siphon billions from war-ravaged DRC’s cobalt, coltan trade

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy is expected to be in Washington on Friday to sign a minerals agreement with Trump, a deal Trump is portraying as a way to recoup American money that has been spent to support Ukraine.

Trump said on Tuesday that Zelenskiy wanted to come to Washington on Friday to sign a “very big deal.” The deal is central to Ukrainian attempts to win strong support from Trump as he seeks a quick end to Russia’s war through US-Russian talks that have so far excluded Kyiv.

Analysts, and congressional Republicans, said a successful agreement increased the chances that members of the party – who control both the House of Representatives and Senate – would be willing to approve more aid for Ukraine.

Congress has approved $175 billion in assistance since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine three years ago, but the last funding bill passed in April, when Democrats still controlled the Senate and Democrat Joe Biden was in the White House.

Even then, congressional Republicans slow walked the bill under pressure from Trump, who has been skeptical of further military aid to Ukraine, leading to delays in the delivery of weapons which put Ukrainian troops on the back foot in the battlefield.

Since Trump was elected on Nov. 5, enthusiasm for further spending has been thin.

Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson said last week there was “no appetite” for another Ukraine aid bill, after Trump called Zelenskiy a dictator and warned he must move quickly to secure peace with Russia or risk losing his country.

Democrats in the US Congress have remained solidly in favor of backing Zelenskiy’s government.

Republican Representative Michael McCaul, a strong supporter of Ukraine, said he agreed that a minerals deal would make it easier for Republicans to vote for assistance, while US companies made money and Ukraine profited from its resources.

“Yes I do, especially if it (the deal) comes from Trump,” he told Reuters.

Business interests

McCaul described the deal as a “joint economic alliance,” where the US would help develop Ukraine’s critical minerals.

“And then obviously, our industry would make money,” he said. “They would make money, and then we help to pay for the war.”

Representative Joe Wilson said the deal would appeal to fellow Republicans who want to cut spending, especially foreign aid spending, by providing a financial benefit for the US.

“It’s really not an issue with Ukraine,” he said. “It is that they are legitimately concerned about the overspending, and then that’s reflected that they’re skeptical about foreign efforts.”

McCaul, Wilson and other Republican lawmakers noted that details of a security agreement for Ukraine remained a sticking point, but analysts said it made sense for Ukraine to sign after three years of war, steep losses and to get Trump invested in Kyiv’s success.

“They see this as a way to get the Trump buy-in,” said Scott Anderson, a fellow in governance studies at the Brookings Institution.

Republican senator Jim Risch, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, did not say a minerals deal would garner more Republican support, but saw it as instrumental in bringing the war to an end.

“I think there will be a settlement, but as in all settlements, each party needs to come away and be able to tell their constituents they won,” Risch said.

(By Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Humeyra Pamuk and Deepa Babington)

Both sides have been locked in intense negotiations over the agreement that US President Donald Trump’s administration sees as integral to its plan to broker a ceasefire in Russia’s three-year war on Ukraine.

The new draft has been almost agreed on and Ukraine is awaiting a reply from the US, according to a person familiar with the talks who asked not to be named as negotiations take place behind closed doors.

The US will commit to a “free, sovereign and secure” Ukraine and a “lasting peace” as part of the minerals deal, a draft text seen by Bloomberg showed. It will also agree to a “durable partnership” between Washington and Kyiv and signal an intent to invest in Ukraine, the text said.

The US will also say that those who acted adversely to Ukraine in the war should not benefit from its reconstruction. The text of the agreement wasn’t finalized and could still change, a person familiar with the matter said.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told reporters on Sunday that the US dropped its demand for Kyiv to commit to paying $500 billion from resource extraction to a fund as a form of repayment for US aid. Zelenskiy disputed the figure, saying it was closer to $90 billion and insisted that US military support must be part of any deal.

“The negotiations have been very constructive, with nearly all key details finalized,” Stefanishyna said in a post on X social media platform. “We hope both US and Ukraine leaders might sign and endorse it in Washington the soonest to showcase our commitment for decades to come.”

An additional detailed agreement is expected to be negotiated that will determined how the fund will be set up and operate, the person said. Both sides will work on it once the current deal is signed, according to the person.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent discussed the contours of the potential agreement on Fox News’s Sunday Morning Futures, saying the US can help propel Ukraine onto a “great growth trajectory.”

“The first part of this is a partnership between Ukraine and the US that involves strategic minerals, energy, and state owned enterprises, where we set up a partnership and we are only looking forward,” Bessent said.

Instead of a military guarantee, the US is offering an “economic security guarantee,” he added.

Zelenskiy earlier rejected a US argument that American companies doing business in Ukraine would itself serve as a form of security guarantee.

Ukraine still added language concerning formal US security guarantees into the minerals deal despite Washington dismissing this option, said a person familiar with the matter.

However, US National Security Advisor Michael Waltz told Fox News on Monday that “security guarantees for Ukraine is a different conversation.”

(By Daryna Krasnolutska and Alex Wickham)

But Zelenskiy insisted at a news conference on Sunday that US military support must be part of any deal, in a sign of how far both countries are from reaching an agreement.

US President Donald Trump and his deputies have pressured Zelenskiy to accept the deal on tapping revenues from Ukraine’s mineral wealth and other assets. The plan was first presented by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in Kyiv on Feb. 12.

Ukraine’s leader rejected it, saying the proposal didn’t offer the robust security guarantees Ukraine seeks against Moscow’s aggression.

The White House sees the minerals deal as an integral part of its plan to broker a ceasefire in the three-year war after the US held direct talks with Russia in Saudi Arabia last week. That meeting raised fears that Ukraine would be shut out of negotiations over its own future.

The deal must be “win-win” for Ukraine and the US, Zelenskiy said on Sunday.

Trump has said he wants the equivalent of $500 billion to compensate the US for its previous support to Kyiv. Bloomberg News reported on Saturday that Ukraine sees the actual assistance provided by the US since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022 as closer to $90 billion.

Zelenskiy said he rejected the US argument that American companies doing business in Ukraine would itself serve as a form of security guarantee.

Bessent discussed the contours of the potential agreement on Fox News’s Sunday Morning Futures, saying the US can help propel Ukraine onto a “great growth trajectory.”

“The first part of this is a partnership between Ukraine and the US that involves strategic minerals, energy, and state owned enterprises, where we set up a partnership and we are only looking forward,” Bessent said. Instead of a military guarantee, the US is offering an “economic security guarantee,” he added.

Zelenskiy’s top adviser Andriy Yermak said on Telegram on Sunday that talks with the US were advancing.

Disputes over the framing of the deal led to escalating rhetoric last week, with Trump calling his Ukrainian counterpart a “dictator” while Zelenskiy accused him of parroting Russian disinformation.

Ukraine has no major rare earth reserves that are internationally recognized as economically viable, despite reports it’s sitting on a $10 trillion trove of mineral deposits.

And while it has commercial mines of critical minerals like titanium and gallium, they aren’t likely to be worth the sums Trump has floated.

Zelenskiy said on Sunday that talks on the deal will allow Ukraine to conduct a real survey of its minerals reserves, including their ownership status. He said he didn’t rule out Kyiv retaking assets that have been obtained illegally.

(By Volodymyr Verbianyi and Aliaksandr Kudrytski)

The draft agreement proposed by the Trump administration currently has some questionable elements, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy isn’t ready to approve it, said the person, who asked not to be identified to discuss private talks. The person declined to say what in the draft has triggered Kyiv’s objections.

Ukrainian officials discussed the potential minerals accord with US special envoy Keith Kellogg during his visit to Kyiv, after Zelenskiy rejected an initial offer from Washington earlier in the month. The Ukrainian leader said that proposal needed a tie to US security guarantees and “was not in the interest of a sovereign Ukraine.”

The US proposal envisaged securing 50% of license sales and other proceeds from the minerals, which would violate Ukrainian laws, a person familiar with the discussions said at the time. It also covered revenue from oil, gas and ports, ABC News reported, citing a draft document.

Kyiv said it put forward changes to the proposal that would benefit both sides. Critics of the draft deal denounced it as reminiscent of colonialism of centuries past.

“Teams from Ukraine and the US are working on a draft agreement between our governments,” Zelenskiy said in his daily address to the nation late Friday. “This is an agreement that can strengthen our relations, and the key is to work out the details to ensure its effectiveness,” he said, adding that he looked forward to “a just result.”

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the deal proposes that revenue received by the government in Kyiv from natural resources, infrastructure and other assets is allocated to a fund focused on long-term reconstruction and development of Ukraine, in which the US will have economic and governance rights. This would ensure the transparency, accountability and corporate governance necessary to attract private investment, he wrote in the Financial Times on Saturday.

“Let’s also be clear as to what this is not. The US would not be taking ownership of physical assets in Ukraine. Nor would it be saddling Ukraine with more debt,” Bessent wrote. “This type of economic pressure, while deployed by other global actors, would advance neither American nor Ukrainian interests. In order to create more value over the long term, the US must be invested alongside the people of Ukraine, so that both sides are incentivized to gain as much as possible.”

The US pressure on Ukraine to sign the deal comes as President Donald Trump has made a series of statements that have put Zelenskiy in an uncomfortable spot. The US president suggested earlier this week that Ukraine was to blame for the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion three years ago.

Trump has also signaled he wants to reach a deal with Moscow on how to end the conflict without Ukraine at the table, and called the democratically-elected Zelenskiy a “dictator” with a 4% approval rating.

The Ukrainian leader, whose approval stood at 57% in a recent poll, fired back, saying the US president had fallen for Russian “disinformation.”

Kyiv would ideally want a final deal on the minerals to be signed in the presence of the US and Ukrainian presidents, according to the person familiar with the talks. Zelenskiy, who met with Kellogg on Thursday, has pushed for a meeting with Trump before any potential sit-down the US leader has with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

(By Daryna Krasnolutska)