Ukraine gets a long-term commitment for US investment in “a free, sovereign, and secure Ukraine”. The United States gets a stake in Ukraine’s future resource potential. And Trump gets to prove that he is, to quote White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt, “the great deal maker”.

Just don’t expect a Ukrainian critical minerals rush soon.

Yulia Svyrydenko, Ukraine’s deputy prime minister, posted on X that she does not expect the jointly-owned Reconstruction Investment Fund to pay out any dividends in the first 10 years.

Don’t mention the rare earths

At least everyone has stopped calling it the rare earths deal. The agreement covers all sub-soil resources, including oil, gas and a wide spectrum of metals.

Ukraine has a couple of rare earth deposits, which is not surprising given the size of the country and that rare earths are not as rare as their name suggests.

Deposits that are viable economically and technically are relatively unusual and how promising Ukraine’s are is unclear.

Even the best-mapped Novopoltavske field was last surveyed in 1982-1991. It is also inconveniently located just north of Chernihiv in Zaporizhzhia province, which is the wrong side of the front line from a Ukrainian point of view.

So are two of the touted lithium projects. Indeed, about 40% of Ukraine’s metal resources are under Russian occupation, according to estimates by Ukrainian think tanks We Build Ukraine and the National Institute of Strategic Studies.

Unlocking the full value of the minerals deal will be impossible without a definitive peace and reconciliation of Ukraine’s and Russia’s competing territorial claims.

Long road from mine to market

Ukraine has other lithium deposits and also hosts reserves of critical minerals such as uranium, titanium and graphite.

But since existing production facilities are not included in the deal and many have been closed since the start of the war anyway, Ukraine will be building a minerals production chain from scratch.

That is a long journey.

The challenge with many of the metals on everyone’s critical raw materials list is not getting them out of the ground, although that can be capital-intensive enough, but in refining them into high-purity products ready for the manufacturing process.

Rare earths’ separation and processing is notoriously tricky and dominated by Chinese operators, which is another reason why no-one’s calling it the rare earths deal any more.

Mined uranium also needs to be enriched before it can be fed into a nuclear power plant and titanium ore needs to be processed into aviation-grade alloy before it can be used to build aircraft.

It’s an inconvenient truth that Russia is one of the world’s largest titanium processors and accounted for 27% of the enriched uranium supplied to US commercial reactors in 2023.

Russia, however, is explicitly excluded from benefiting from the reconstruction of Ukraine.

Price protection

Market price is another problem.

Ukraine’s graphite deposits are both on the right side of the front line and relatively well mapped. The Balakhivske project is at the feasibility study stage, according to the Ukrainian Geological Survey.

There is a ready European market for the material needed for the anode in electric vehicle batteries.

But will mining it in Ukraine be economically viable?

Canadian miner Northern Graphite, the only producer in North America, has announced it is putting its Quebec plant on care and maintenance due to a 50% collapse in the graphite price.

China controls 70% of the global supply chain and can exert huge influence over pricing, in this case flooding the market to undermine potential competitors.

The West’s lithium ambitions are being similarly stymied by Chinese over-supply and rock-bottom market prices.

Ukraine will find that private investment will need government help to shield start-ups from price turbulence.

The United States has already understood the need for direct federal action. The Department of Defense is a strategic investor in a domestic rare earths processing project being led by Australia’s Lynas Rare Earths.

Staking the metallic future

This minerals deal is clearly going to come with a long repayment schedule.

But it is a sign of the times. As the world transitions from a fossil fuel economy to a metallic future, minerals have become the new geopolitical currency.

In this new world order China is the dominant incumbent and the West the challenger.

The United States has just made a strategic move in the great global minerals game. It will not be the last.

Next up is the Democratic Republic of Congo, where another minerals-for-security deal is on the table.

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

(Editing by Barbara Lewis)

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)

In real terms, Uzbekistan’s economy grew by 6.5% in 2024, with nominal GDP reaching $115 billion, following a 6.3% real growth rate and a nominal GDP of $102 billion in the previous year.

NMMC saw its 2024 revenue soar by 30% year-on-year to $7.4 billion, equivalent to 6.4% of Uzbekistan’s GDP. The company was helped by higher gold prices and a 5.4% increase in gold production to 3.1 million ounces last year. NMMC is the fourth largest gold mining company in the world while Uzbekistan ranks 10th among gold producing nations. NMMC is also the largest contributor to Uzbekistan’s economy, accounting for approximately 20.9% of the country’s budget revenues in 2024.

Much of the credit for Uzbekistan’s recent success goes to President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, whose administration has opened up the economy and instituted a raft of legislative and administrative reforms. The government has pushed the country’s major state-owned companies towards adopting international accounting and operating standards and set them on a path to tapping international capital markets.

NMMC made its capital markets debut in October of last year with the successful placement of a $1 billion dual-tranche Eurobond. The transaction included $500 million in four-year notes with a yield of 6.70% and $500 million for seven years at 6.95%. It was the largest orderbook for an Uzbekistan issuer since the sovereign debut in 2019, peaking at $5.5 billion or 5.5x oversubscribed, as well as the first global DCM issuance from a major gold miner since June 2023. Investors hailed from around the world, including the United States, United Kingdom, Europe, Middle East and Asia.

Even with the debt issuance, NMMC remains fairly lowly leveraged for a major mining company, with a net debt/adjusted EBITDA ratio of 0.5x. The company boasts industry-leading low all-in sustaining costs of $979/ounce and a high EBITDA margin of 62%. With adjusted EBITDA of $4.6 billion last year, NMMC is well placed to invest in its capital program while still paying a healthy dividend.

NMMC’s expenditures related to the investment program totaled $580 million in 2024 is designed to continue expanding production by increasing throughput at existing mines and exploring and developing its near-mine license areas. With more than 47,000 employees, the company is vertically-integrated, with its own divisions for exploration, construction, transportation, engineering and machine-building, alongside mining, processing and refining. As a result, much of that capital investment stays within the Uzbek economy.

Some examples of capital projects financed last year include the ongoing expansion of mining capacity at our flagship Muruntau-Myutenbay deposit, the world’s largest open-pit mine. We expanded our BIOX plant for processing refractory ore with two new biooxidation units coming online in early 2025, thereby boosting capacity by 12%. We are also expanding the HMP №7 processing plant, which treats tailings from our heap leach.

As part of our commitment to sustainable development, NMMC is investing heavily in water treatment facilities with a goal of increasing the share of recycled water used in production to 40%, thus conserving 36 million cubic meters of fresh water per year. We are also renewing our mining fleet with the aim of improving efficiency and reducing environmental impact.

NMMC’s contribution to the local economy goes beyond its own operations. The company has an ongoing program to work with local industry to create new supply lines and replace imports. Goods valued at $72 million were produced under this localization program in 2024, both at NMMC’s own manufacturing facilities and at its industrial partners.

NMMC is a prime example of how the gold mining industry can have a positive economic impact well beyond its core operations. The company contributes to the government’s social programs via its tax contributions and through the dividends it pays out annually. At the same time, it invests heavily in infrastructure and encourages domestic manufacturing, all with a keen focus on sustainable development and social responsibility in the towns and villages where it operates.

The challenge going forward is for NMMC to continue to implement its transition program and to institute international best practices across its businesses while focusing on health and safety and improving working and living standards for its employees. The company is keen to maintain its competitive advantage as a low-cost producer while also investing in opportunities to increase production. Success in these efforts will ensure that NMMC and the gold mining industry will continue to play a significant role in Uzbekistan’s economy for generations to come.

* Jakhongir Khasanov is the chief financial officer of Navoi Mining & Metallurgical Company.

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)

The Kremlin was silent on Wednesday’s agreement, but former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said it meant Trump had “broken the Kyiv regime” because Ukraine would have to pay for US military aid with mineral resources.

The accord, which was signed in Washington and heavily promoted by Trump, establishes a joint investment fund for Ukraine’s reconstruction as the US president tries to secure a peace settlement in Russia’s three-year-old war in Ukraine.

The agreement grants the US preferential access to new Ukrainian minerals projects. It is central to Ukraine’s efforts to mend ties with the White House, which frayed after Trump took office in January.

The deal will show the “Russian leadership that there is no daylight between the Ukrainian people and the American people, between our goals,” US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Fox Business Network in an interview.

“And again, I think this is a strong signal to the Russian leadership, and it gives President Trump the ability to now negotiate with Russia on even a stronger basis,” he said.

His remarks appeared to send a signal to Russia that Washington remains aligned with Kyiv despite question marks over its commitment to its ally since Trump’s return to power upended US diplomacy.

The Ukrainian parliament must still approve the pact.

Ukraine’s First Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko, who signed the accord, told reporters in an online briefing that would happen in the next few weeks.

“We want to ratify it as soon as possible. So we plan to do it within the coming weeks,” Svyrydenko said, adding that some technical details had to be completed before a joint US-Ukraine investment fund could become operational.

“We really need to be more sustainable and more self-sufficient, and this is a real tool that can help us achieve this goal,” she said.

Ukraine’s Economy Ministry said the two sides did not expect the agreement to begin generating revenue this year.

Vatican talks were key

Senior Trump administration officials said three agreements had been signed – a framework deal and two technical accords – and that they expected Ukraine’s parliament to approve them within a week.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he hoped there would be no delays in securing parliament’s approval, although some lawmakers said they expected it to take longer than a week.

Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal met parliamentary factions at a closed meeting on Thursday. Some members complained they had not seen the text of the agreement or been properly consulted.

“The agreement has changed significantly in the preparation process,” Zelenskiy said in a video posted on Telegram, hailing what he called a “truly equal agreement” that created opportunities for investment in Ukraine and the modernization of industry and legal practices in his country.

He and Bessent both underlined that talks between Zelenskiy and Trump in Rome during Pope Francis’ funeral on April 26 played an important role in securing a deal.

“In fact, now we have the first result of the Vatican meeting, which makes it truly historic,” Zelenskiy said.

Kyiv has been highly dependent on US military supplies since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022 and says Moscow has intensified attacks on Ukraine since the US stepped up efforts to secure a peace settlement.

Washington has signalled its frustration with the failure of Moscow and Kyiv to agree on terms, and Trump has shown signs of disappointment with Russian President Vladimir Putin for not moving faster towards peace.

Medvedev, who is now a senior security official in Russia, suggested Ukraine had been forced into the agreement.

“Trump has broken the Kyiv regime to the point where they will have to pay for US aid with mineral resources,” he wrote on Telegram. “Now they (Ukrainians) will have to pay for military supplies with the national wealth of a disappearing country.”

Ukraine’s international debt rallied after the signing of the deal, which financial analysts said had come with better terms for Ukraine than they had originally thought likely.

Ukraine is rich in natural resources including rare earth metals used in consumer electronics, electric vehicles and military applications, among others. Global rare earth mining is dominated by China, which is locked in a trade war with the US after Trump’s sharp tariff increases.

Ukraine also has reserves of iron, uranium and natural gas.

(By Doina Chiacu, Susan Heavey, David Lawder, Anastasiia Malenko, Tom Balmforth, Karin Strohecker, Yuliia Dysa and Timothy Heritage; Editing by Philippa Fletcher)

The agreement “signals clearly to Russia that the Trump administration is committed to a peace process centered on a free, sovereign and prosperous Ukraine over the long term,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement late Wednesday.

Ukrainian Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko also confirmed the deal on social media. In a post on X, she wrote: “Together with the United States, we are creating the Fund that will attract global investment into our country.”

The deal, as first reported by Bloomberg News, will grant the US priority access to new investment projects involving critical materials such as aluminum, graphite, oil and natural gas. It also establishes a reconstruction fund, managed by Washington, through which profits will be funneled.

The fund is intended to support Ukraine’s recovery and offset future US military assistance, the draft of the agreement reads.

Trump’s 100th day

The announcement comes as US President Donald Trump marks the first 100 days of his new term, amid mounting pressure to deliver foreign policy wins and restore his political standing. Trump, whose support Kyiv views as critical to any potential truce with Moscow, has expressed frustration with the pace of ceasefire negotiations.

“We made a deal where our money is secure, where we can start digging and doing what we have to do,” Trump told a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday. “It’s also good for them because you’ll have an American presence at the site … that will keep a lot of bad actors out.”

The agreement follows weeks of negotiations, including a visit by Ukrainian officials to Washington earlier this month. Talks had stalled over technical details until the sides agreed to finalize all components of the deal simultaneously.

Earlier in the day, the Financial Times reported the deal had hit a last-minute snag, with issues arising related to governance, transparency mechanisms and the traceability of funds.

Resource partnership

The reconstruction fund is designed to facilitate future cooperation in energy and resource development, including mining and technology. Kyiv views the pact as a strategic step toward its long-term goal of joining the European Union—an issue Ukraine insisted must not be compromised.

According to Reuters, while the agreement gives US preferential access to new Ukrainian natural resources deals, it would not automatically hand Washington a share of Ukraine’s mineral wealth.

US officials said that the deal does not require Ukraine to repay past military aid, estimated in the billions of dollars since Russia’s full-scale invasion began over three years ago. Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal confirmed that Washington had dropped its earlier demand for retroactive compensation.

“This economic partnership positions our two countries to work collaboratively and invest together,” the US Treasury said.

The landmark agreement would grant Washington preferential access to new Ukrainian mineral and energy projects in exchange for future investment and military assistance, as reported by multiple media outlets.

According to unnamed sources cited by the Financial Times, Ukraine’s Minister of Economic Development Yulia Svyrydenko, who arrived in Washington on Wednesday, is aiming to revisit some of the terms that were initially agreed upon over the weekend.

The sticking points, according to sources cited by the Financial Times, revolve around governance, transparency mechanisms and the traceability of funds. In response, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and his team warned that Svyrydenko should “be ready to sign all agreements, or go back home”.

However, Ukraine refuted the American version of the events, adding that the only reason why they could not sign all the documents on Wednesday was because the fund agreement, which would complete the full minerals deal, must be ratified by the country’s parliament first.

A draft of the deal, previously reviewed by Reuters, indicates that it includes the establishment of a joint US-Ukrainian reconstruction fund, which would receive half of the profits and royalties earned by Ukraine from newly issued natural resources permits.

While this arrangement does not transfer direct ownership of assets or infrastructure, it ensures that the US — or designated entities — would have first access to new licenses and projects.

The draft clarifies that existing mineral or energy contracts will not be affected, and earlier proposals that would have given the US influence over Ukraine’s gas infrastructure have been dropped, Reuters reported.

In parallel reporting, Bloomberg said the deal’s scope includes development opportunities across a range of critical commodities such as aluminum, graphite, oil and natural gas. According to officials familiar with the process, the agreement has been in the works since February and will require ratification by Ukraine’s parliament.

As part of the arrangement, the US has agreed that only future military aid will count toward its contributions to the fund.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal confirmed this change on Sunday, noting that previously delivered assistance—worth tens of billions of dollars—will not be monetized under the new framework.

Shmyhal described the agreement as a “strategic investment partnership” to rebuild Ukraine and foster its long-term development. “It is truly an equal and beneficial international agreement,” he told Ukrainian television on Wednesday, according to CNN.

US President Donald Trump has linked the mineral partnership to broader questions around Ukraine’s ability to “repay” Washington for its support since Russia’s 2022 invasion.

The deal also aligns with Trump’s broader push for a negotiated ceasefire. However, progress on that front remains stalled as Russia demands complete control over contested eastern Ukrainian regions.

Despite the high-level tensions—including a failed signing attempt in February following a contentious Oval Office meeting—Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and President Trump appear to have restarted dialogue. The two met privately at the Vatican over the weekend during Pope Francis’s funeral.

Ukraine claims to hold nearly $15 trillion worth of mineral resources, making it one of the most resource-rich nations in Europe. The country is home to the continent’s largest reserves of lithium, titanium, and uranium.

In its latest report, Sprott notes that uranium prices have stabilized near $65/lb following a correction driven not by weakening fundamentals, but by a pause in utility contracting. Buyers have been waiting for clarity on US tariffs and potential trade restrictions on Russian enriched uranium.

Some of that uncertainty began to clear in early April, helping steady the spot market. Sprott maintains that uranium’s decline reflects macro sentiment and technical selling—not a reversal in the commodity’s structural outlook.

“Despite market pressures, uranium’s term price remains stable at $80/lb and global supply is constrained below demand levels,” the firm said.

Resilience amid volatility

While broader equity and commodity markets have seen volatility in recent months, uranium has shown relative stability.

In early April, it remained uncorrelated with other risk assets—holding firm even as equities sold off, bond markets wobbled, and volatility spiked.

Uranium and uranium equities have outperformed other commodities and global equities over the past five years, driven by a deepening supply deficit and growing global policy support. That trend, Sprott argues, is far from over.

Supply lags demand

Supply constraints remain a central part of the bullish case. Few new uranium projects are advancing, and some juniors—like NexGen, Deep Yellow, and Paladin—have delayed development. Kazatomprom has also guided production toward the lower end of its outlook amid cost and input challenges.

In Australia, heavily shorted producers such as Paladin and Boss Energy have come under pressure, but Sprott believes short positioning in uranium equities is out of sync with underlying market dynamics. “This wave of equity weakness is a sentiment story, not a structural one,” the report reads.

On the demand side, China continues to expand its nuclear fleet, and the US—backed by bipartisan support—has reaffirmed its commitment to nuclear power as a strategic asset. Tech giants like Amazon, Google, and Meta are also pushing for an ambitious tripling of global nuclear power capacity by 2050 to meet growing baseload energy needs.

Sprott expects the next leg of the uranium bull cycle to begin as utilities return to the market and long-term contracting resumes. With global uranium production still well below reactor requirements and long timelines for new supply to come online, the firm sees a structurally tight market for years to come.

The company, formerly called Polymetal, reiterated its full-year guidance of gold equivalent production at 470,000 oz.

Solidcore, Kazakhstan’s second largest gold miner, said its first quarter sales declined by 67% to 38,000 oz. of gold equivalent after the temporary shipment delays with a strong recovery expected in the second half of 2025 as toll-processing returns to normal conditions.

(By Anastasia Lyrchikova and Anastasia Teterevleva; Editing by Andrew Osborn)

Read More: Solidcore eyes Gulf financing in post-Russia strategy

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

“Ukraine, headed by Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has not signed the final papers on the very important rare earths deal with the United States. It is at least three weeks late. Hopefully, it will be signed IMMEDIATELY. Work on the overall peace deal between Russia and Ukraine is going smoothly,” he said in a Truth Social post.

(By Katharine Jackson; Editing by Doina Chiacu)

Read More: US eyes post-war joint business with Russia in energy, metals

The move signals deepening economic ties between Russia and Burkina Faso, as the junta that seized power in 2022 continues its pivot away from traditional Western allies towards Moscow.

The Niou gold deposit, located in the Kourweogo province of Burkina’s Plateau-Central region, covers 52.8 square kilometres (20.4 square miles) within the exploration licence area held by Jilbey Burkina, which is now owned by Nordgold. Nordgold already operates the Bissa and Bouly mines.

The council of ministers said late Thursday that the Niou mine was expected to yield approximately 20.22 metric tons of gold over its eight-year lifetime.

Jilbey Burkina will retain an 85% stake in the project, while the Burkinabe government will hold the remaining 15% without financial contribution, in accordance with the country’s new mining regulations.

The project will contribute 51.5 billion CFA francs ($89 million) to the state’s budget over its lifespan and 7.06 billion CFA francs to the state’s mineral wealth fund, the council of ministers said.

Gold prices have risen by over 25% this year, fuelled by geopolitical instability and US President Donald Trump’s trade policies.

Burkina Faso, which has been fighting Islamist militants since 2015, is a major gold producer. According to non-governmental organization Swissaid, which analyses mining, the country produced over 57 tons in 2023.

Mining companies operating there include Canada’s IAMGOLD and Endeavour Mining, and Australia’s West African Resources Ltd.

“The cooperation with Nordgold and other industrial mines is important (for Burkina’s government) as the country faces a budget crunch,” said Ulf Laessing, head of the Sahel program at Germany’s Konrad Adenauer Foundation.

However, the Niou project will be located in a large artisanal mining area and might deprive the people working as artisanal miners of key income, he said.

The government said the mine could generate 204 jobs, while also helping sustain employment at the nearby Bissa Gold SA mine.

(By Maxwell Akalaare Adombila; Editing by Maxwell Akalaare Adombila, Portia Crowe and Mark Potter)

Nations within the Chinese sphere process 53.1% of the world’s copper, far surpassing the American-aligned bloc at 15.6% and the “Coalition of the Willing” at 19%.

Russia, grouped separately, accounts for 5.6% of global capacity, while 6.8% of copper processing remains in “Undrafted” countries not formally aligned with any major power bloc, such as Iran and India.

Analysts warn that while access to raw materials is crucial, the ability to process them may ultimately determine strategic advantage in the race for technological and industrial dominance.

Explore the full infographic:

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RELATED: RANKED: World’s biggest copper mines

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 company said it produced 42,000 tons of nickel in the first quarter of 2025, a 1.1% drop from the same period of last year, while palladium production eased 0.6% to 741,000 ounces. Production of platinum rose by 0.6% to 180,000 ounces.

“The modest decline of nickel production was temporary and due to scheduled short-term repairs and maintenance of equipment, aiming to support steady operation of main technological units,” the company’s senior vice president Alexander Popov said in a statement.

Nornickel explained the drop in the nickel production was due to maintenance works at several of its plants.

Nornickel is under pressure domestically from the rouble’s 40% rally against the US dollar, which decreases its revenues, as well as from high interest rates, which affect investment plans.

Internationally, the company is facing falling or stagnating prices for some of its metals due to lower demand amid market turbulence triggered by US President Donald Trump’s trade tariffs.

While Nornickel is not subject to direct Western sanctions, the measures have prompted some Western producers to avoid buying Russian metal, complicated payments, and restricted access to Western equipment.

“We believe that the risk of a global economic slowdown as a result of tariff wars will negatively affect the company’s metals portfolio,” BCS brokerage analysts said in a note.

(By Anastasia Lyrchikova and Gleb Bryanski; Editing by Kirsten Donovan and Ros Russell)

ERG, a Luxembourg-based producer of copper, cobalt, aluminum and iron ore that is 40%-owned by the Kazakh government, said last year it had formed a task force to explore deposits of rare earth and rare metals in Kazakhstan.

Those minerals have gained particular attention in recent months as US President Donald Trump’s administration seeks alternatives to China to supply its domestic industry as a trade war between the countries escalates.

According to a source close to the company, talks between ERG and Cameron have been going on since the end of last year. Cameron shares a name with the Academy Award-winning film director, but the two are not related.

ERG, the Kazakh government, and Cameron, once a board chairman of former FTSE 250 mining firm Petropavlovsk, did not comment.

According to Cameron’s letter to the ERG board, a copy of which was obtained by Reuters, Goldman Sachs is in preliminary talks to advise on the deal.

“The financing will come from a combination of my own funds, as well as equity contributions from other investors in the United States, and possibly Australia and the Middle East,” the letter said.

Another source close to the transaction told Reuters the investor’s interest in ERG is partly linked to Kazakhstan’s potential in critical minerals exploration and mining. Kazakhstan aims to lift rare and rare earth metals output by 40% by 2028, with ERG seen taking a major role in the initiative.

This month, Kazakhstan’s government announced that its geologists had discovered a large rare earth deposit with estimated resources exceeding 20 million metric tons.

Kazakhstan’s Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov said last year that data concerning the country’s deposits of rare and rare earth metals, a state secret since Soviet times, is being gradually declassified.

If confirmed, this discovery could position Kazakhstan among the top three holders of rare earth reserves globally, following China and Brazil.

ERG once produced one-fifth of the world’s gallium, a rare metal used in microchips and included on the US list of critical materials. However, it ceased production after China increased its output of the metal in 2012.

Beijing in December banned gallium exports to the US after a crackdown by Washington on China’s chip sector.

In 2013, ERG was taken private in a $4.5 billion buyout by its three founders, who each owned approximately 20% of the company, along with the government.

Last month, one of ERG’s founders and its board chairman, Kazakh-Israeli businessman Alexander Mashkevich, passed away, leaving only one of the original founders, Patokh Chodiev, among the current shareholders.

(By Gleb Bryanski and Mariya Gordeyeva; Editing by Guy Faulconbridge and Jan Harvey)

The development of the Baimskaya copper deposit, first discovered in 1972, is expected to create some 6,000 jobs and generate more than three trillion roubles in tax revenue, a government press release said.

Chukotka is a mountainous region and the easternmost federal subject of Russia. About half of it is located above the Arctic Circle.

Once operable, the deposit will boost Russia’s copper production by 25% and its gold production by 4%.

“We continue to build not just a mining and processing plant, but a powerful and technologically-advanced industrial complex that will strengthen Russia’s position in the global market and become a new point of growth in the Arctic,” said Georgy Fotin, general director of the Baimskaya Management Company LLC.

President Vladimir Putin has named the Arctic as one of Russia’s key areas of economic interest, and has ramped up commerce via the Northern Sea Route as Moscow shifts trade towards Asia and away from Europe due to Western sanctions.

Development of the Baimskaya deposit will see annual cargo traffic along the NSR increase by two million metric tons, the government said on Saturday.

($1 = 82.1000 roubles)

(By Lucy Papachristou; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)

The document paves the way towards an “economic partnership agreement and the establishment of the investment fund for the reconstruction of Ukraine,” Ukraine’s first deputy prime minister and economy minister Yulia Svyrydenko, said in a thread on X.

The memorandum signing follows remarks by US President Donald Trump earlier in the day that a deal on Ukraine’s critical minerals will be signed next Thursday.

Present at the memorandum signing was US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who was the first cabinet-level official in Trump’s administration to visit Ukraine earlier this year to hold initial talks. Bessent hinted earlier that the deal would be signed around April 26.

“We have a minerals deal which I guess is going to be signed on Thursday,” Trump said during a meeting with Italian Prime Minster Giorgia Meloni in the Oval Office. “And I assume they’re going to live up to the deal.”

A draft of the deal under discussion earlier this month would give the US access to Ukraine’s mineral deposits and require Kyiv to place all its income from the exploitation of natural resources in a joint investment fund. Ukraine holds sizable deposits of critical minerals, including rare earth elements that are essential to a variety of high-tech applications, as well as graphite, lithium, titanium and uranium.

The partnership accord would see the US have first claim on profits transferred into a special reconstruction investment fund under its control. Kyiv has been pressing for better terms in the negotiations, including US security guarantees, and had refused to recognize the past US aid as debt.

After a new round of talks, the Trump administration has agreed to bring down its estimated assistance to Kyiv since the start of Russia’s invasion closer to Ukraine’s own estimate of $90 billion, Bloomberg reported.

Still, even with a deal in the offing, Trump remains critical of Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, with whom he had a heated exchange late February in the White House when the two parties had planned to sign a deal.

“I don’t hold Zelenskiy responsible but I’m not exactly thrilled with the fact that war started,” Trump said, referring to his Ukrainian counterpart’s role in its fight with Russia.

US President Donald Trump is seeking a bilateral minerals deal as part of his push to end Ukraine’s war against the Russian invasion. Trump also sees it as a way to recover billions of dollars the US has spent on military assistance to Ukraine. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said that Ukraine would not recognise past US military aid as loans.

“Our technical teams have worked very thoroughly together on the agreement, and there is significant progress. Our legal staff has adjusted several items within the draft agreement,” Svyrydenko said in a social media post on X.

Svyrydenko said the work on the deal would continue and that both sides agreed to sign a memorandum in the near term as the first stage to record the progress.

Deputy Ukrainian Economy Minister Taras Kachka told national television that talks were advancing and that it was likely a provisional document, or memorandum, could be signed very soon.

“A final document won’t be signed this week. There is a lot of work to be done because the ideas included in the agreement by the US side need to be developed further,” Kachka said.

The United States has reduced its cost estimate for the assistance provided to Ukraine since Russia’s invasion in 2022 to about $100 billion from $300 billion, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.

Last month, the Trump administration proposed a new, more expansive minerals deal, which gives Ukraine no future security guarantees but requires it to place in a joint investment fund all income from the exploitation of natural resources by state and private enterprises across Ukrainian territory.

The future agreement would require ratification in Ukraine’s parliament and was expected to help economic growth in both countries, Svyrydenko said, but provided no more details.

“It will create opportunities for investment and development in Ukraine and establish conditions for tangible economic growth for both Ukraine and the United States,” she said.

(By Yuliia Dysa and Olena Harmash; Editing by Frances Kerry, Ron Popeski and Bill Berkrot)

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.

However, the Uzbek miner’s Q1 production value doubled to about $2.1 billion, owing to the rise in gold prices over the 12-month period.

NMMC also yielded cost savings of $61 million following its production optimization efforts at the Muruntau mine, home to what the company considers to be the world’s largest open-pit gold deposit.

During the quarter, the company spent a total of $118.4 million on its capital investment program, which includes initiatives to expand several processing plants to boost production across its mines and development work to tap into other deposits such as the Zarmitan underground.

Meanwhile, Navoi is continuing its geological exploration work to develop its vast gold resource base, which is currently estimated at 150 million oz.

While currently state-owned, NMMC could become a publicly listed company as soon as this year, according to private equity firm La Mancha Resource Capital.

To attract investors, state-backed AIFC is offering a clear, modern regulatory system and easier processes for investors, Bekturov noted last month in Toronto. Kazakhstan’s pitch, which includes a strong digital platform and tax incentives, has helped register over 3,600 companies since 2018.

“We are open for business,” Bekturov said during the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada’s annual event in Toronto. “I urge all the investors and miners in Canada to come and explore Kazakhstan.”

AIFC works as its own jurisdiction, using common-law principles. It offers tax incentives, has its own ways of resolving disputes and functions as a financial free zone aimed at boosting investment and streamlining capital raising, Bekturov added.

Watch the full conversation with The Northern Miner’s western editor, Henry Lazenby.

The value of Russia’s gold reserves has surged by 72%, or $96 billion, since the beginning of 2022, according to central bank data. The physical amount of gold in the Bank of Russia’s coffers hasn’t changed significantly over the last three years, remaining at around 75 million ounces, data shows.

The fate of the country’s reserves that were frozen abroad as punishment for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine remains uncertain. The European Union hasn’t ruled out using some of the funds to help Kyiv to fight against Russia or to finance reconstruction after the conflict ends.

In the worst-case scenario, where none of the frozen assets are recovered, the increase in the value of Russia’s gold would compensate for about a third of the potential losses. Should US President Donald Trump’s efforts to end the war lead to the unfreezing of all of the remaining reserves, the Kremlin would sit on a financial cushion the likes of which it has never had before.

“Gold is relatively illiquid compared to other traditional reserve assets such as US Treasuries or European debt securities,” said Tatiana Orlova, an economist at Oxford Economics. But high current global demand for gold could make it easier than usual for the central bank to sell a relatively large amount of it in the case of a balance-of-payments crisis, she said.

The central bank began its splurge in 2014, following Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea, which triggered western sanctions and its expulsion from the Group of Eight countries. Between 2014 and 2020, a time when the gold price ranged from about $1,100 to $1,500 per ounce, it increased its reserves of the precious metal by 40 million ounces.

Since then the metal’s price has more than doubled, pushing Russia’s total international reserves close to a historical high of nearly $650 billion, as of April 1.

The Bank of Russia is currently among the top five largest holders of gold among central banks, based on data from the World Gold Council, with $229 billion worth of the metal in reserves.

Following the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, the US and its allies imposed a new wave of sweeping sanctions on key sectors of the economy and state entities, including freezing some of the central bank’s reserves. According to Bloomberg calculations based on the latest available data about the structure of Russia’s foreign currency reserves, blocked funds may amount to about $322 billion.

According to that data, Russia held half of its reserves in dollar, euro and pound sterling assets. The rest was invested in yuan and gold, which remain accessible for emergency use. Since the start of the war, the central bank has ceased publishing data on the specific composition of its foreign exchange reserves.

“Accumulating a gold pile was a hedge against geopolitical shocks — it worked.

The Bank of Russia’s approach to gold purchases addressed three different goals: (i) diversifying international reserve assets away from the risks of reserve currency issuing countries, (ii) boosting domestic local currency liquidity by exchanging physical gold for rubles, and (iii) providing a source of stable demand for local gold miners. The increase in the value of gold holdings proves the diversification and hedging value of gold reserves.”

— Alex Isakov, Bloomberg Economics

Gold hit a record $3,167.84 an ounce on Thursday before paring some of those gains as growing concern over escalating trade and geopolitical tensions, fueled by US President Donald Trump’s recent tariffs, sends traders to havens. Bullion just completed its best quarter in decades, delivering a compounded return of about 27% since the end of 2022 when its bull run began — well above what most other assets have provided over the same period.

Unless confronted with a severe crisis, the rise in the price of gold is unlikely to spur Russia’s central bank to begin selling, given its limited options to reallocate funds amid sanctions.

The Bank of Russia recognized its “limited” opportunities to invest in financial instruments of other countries due to “risks inherent in their economies, currencies and financial markets” in its annual report published in March.

“There is no need to spend reserves now,” said Oleg Kuzmin, head of research at Renaissance Capital. “The Bank of Russia has enough liquidity in yuan in case of any shocks.”

Read More: Germany may look to withdraw its gold from US

US President Donald Trump’s administration has proposed a more expansive minerals deal which Ukraine has been reviewing in the recent days.

(By Pavel Polityuk and Anastasiia Malenko; Editing by Toby Chopra)

Watch: What can a US mineral deal do for the Ukraine?

Kazakhstan does not currently feature in the US Geological Survey’s list of countries by rare earth metal deposits. If confirmed, the deposit would place Kazakhstan behind only China and Brazil by size of reserves.

In a statement on Telegram, the ministry said that the Zhana Kazakhstan site, which is 420 km (261 miles) from the country’s capital, contained neodymium, cerium, lanthanum and yttrium, and that its average rare earth metal content is 700 grams per ton.

It did not specify which companies may develop the site, or when.

(By Mariya Gordeyeva and Felix Light; Editing by Louise Heavens)

Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said Ukrainian officials were poring over the latest draft of an infrastructure and natural resources deal sent by the US last week as talks with negotiators in Washington moved ahead. Kyiv is prepared to endorse an agreement that provides security with a significant US business presence in Ukraine, the cabinet minister said.

“The process will continue,” Sybiha told reporters in Kyiv Tuesday as he met with his counterpart from Lithuania. “We will be working with our American colleagues in order to achieve a text that would be mutually acceptable.”

Days after Trump expressed frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the US leader on Monday turned his ire back to Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskiy, blaming the Ukrainian president for seeking new terms for the accord.

The comments amount to geopolitical whiplash during a week in which Trump plans to unleash global tariffs — and exposes impatience in the White House with efforts to end Russia’s war in Ukraine. Trump on Monday signaled he thought Putin will “follow through” on a ceasefire, while reinforcing his anger at Zelenskiy over what he called new conditions from Kyiv for the pending accord.

“I heard that they’re now saying, well, I’ll only do that deal if we get into NATO or something to that effect,” Trump said in the Oval Office.

While Zelenskiy has repeatedly said joining NATO would be the preferred and the most efficient option to ensure peace and security, he has expressed openness to other security guarantees.

Fears in Kyiv

Instead, the latest draft of the resources agreement — which would grant the US control over all major future infrastructure and mineral investments in the war-battered country — raised concerns in Kyiv that a deal could undermine its bid to join the European Union, Bloomberg News reported last week. Officials also feared that it could require Ukraine to repay all US military and economic support since the start of the war.

Still, Sybiha said that an agreement could pave the way for the presence of “powerful, large American business,” which on its own would provide a security guarantee.

“This is always important — strengthening the presence of American business,” the minister said.

Ukrainian officials are scrutinizing the text and may ask for changes, a person familiar with the talks said late last week. Ukrainian and US negotiators held a video call on Friday, which included legal experts, to seek clarification about the nearly 60-page draft agreement, according to the person, who spoke on the condition of anonymity as the talks are private.

As Trump rushes toward securing a ceasefire between the warring parties in time to mark his 100 days in power, even the limited truce on energy strikes mediated by American negotiators last month isn’t holding. Both sides trade accusations of violating it.

A fresh Russian strike damaged an energy facility in the southern region of Kherson early Tuesday, leaving 45,000 civilians without electricity, Sybiha said. The attack followed similar strikes against the regions of Kharkiv and Poltava, according to the minister.

A Ukrainian drone strike meanwhile left some 1,200 people without electricity in Russia’s Belgorod region, the Defense Ministry in Moscow said on Telegram on Tuesday.

(By Olesia Safronova and Aliaksandr Kudrytski)

Solidcore, formerly Polymetal International, is the second-largest gold miner in Kazakhstan. The company had to sell its Russian assets, which represented 70% of its output, in 2024 after its business there came under US sanctions.

The new company, listed in Kazakhstan and with Oman’s government-owned fund Mercury Investments as its largest shareholder, had to design its five-year investment program from scratch.

“The main strategic outcome of 2024 was the launch of our full-fledged investment program,” Nesis told Reuters. “We are very actively considering the option of issuing exchange-traded bonds in the Gulf countries,” he said.

Nesis said that exchanges, based in UAE and Oman, could be an option for the bond placement, while bank loans and share issuance also remained on the table.

“There is the Muscat Stock Exchange, Dubai, and Abu Dhabi. We are looking at different forms, including classic bonds and sukuk (Islamic bonds). We are actively working with rating agencies, given that this direction as very promising,” Nesis said.

Nesis said the company’s investment in the new Syrymbet tin project is estimated at about $250 million. Solidcore’s Tokhtar gold project in northern Kazakhstan is still at the exploration stage, but is estimated to cost $50-100 million.

The company plans to double output to 1 million ounces of gold equivalent by 2029 and invest more than $1 billion excluding M&A until 2029 with focus on its the Ertis pressure oxidation hub in Kazakhstan.

Record gold prices and sales growth almost doubled Solidcore’s net profit in 2024, but Nesis said the gold rally may not last.

“We believe that the current level of gold prices is unlikely to persist even in the medium term. Therefore, when we plan, we plan conservatively,” Nesis said.

Nesis said that the company looked at potential acquisitions of production assets in Uzbekistan and Oman.

“We are asking our first steps in the M&A arena, preparing the groundwork for the company’s further growth,” Nesis said.

Nesis reiterated that despite the high gold prices the company was not planning to pay any dividends as long as some of its shares were stuck in Russia’s sanctioned National Settlement Depositary (NSD), part of the Moscow Stock Exchange.

(By Gleb Bryanski; Editing by David Evans)

Solidcore, formerly Polymetal International, is the second-largest gold miner in Kazakhstan and expects to produce 470,000 gold equivalent ounces in 2025. The company sold its Russian assets in 2024 after its business there came under US sanctions in response to Moscow’s military action in Ukraine.

The group’s Russian business had represented about 70% of output and more than 50% of core earnings.

In results for the year ending December 31, 2024, excluding the Russian segment of its business which it now classes as a discontinued operation, net profit rose 96% year-on-year to $533 million, Solidcore said. Revenue climbed 49% to $1.3 billion.

This year, revenue is under early pressure.

“At (the) Kyzyl (gold project), concentrate delivery delays to the Amursk POX (in Russia), resulting from operational challenges linked to the impact of international sanctions against Russia, are expected to negatively impact revenue in Q1,” Solidcore said in a statement.

Gold prices surged above $3,100 per ounce on Monday to a record high, as worries about potential inflation due to US tariffs set the safe-haven asset up for its strongest quarter since 1986.

Gold is up around 18% so far this year, building on its best performance in over a decade last year with a 27% rise.

“In 2024, our stable operational performance and favourable gold prices drove robust financial results,” CEO Vitaly Nesis said in a statement.

Solidcore expects to double production to 1 million ounces of gold equivalent by 2029, relying on mergers and acquisitions in Central Asia and the Middle East.

To that end, the company has suspended dividend payments for now. Capital expenditure in 2024 rose 44% to $208 million, below the company’s forecast. This year, capital expenditure is seen increasing to $300 million.

(By Anastasia Lyrchikova and Alexander Marrow; Editing by Andrew Osborn)

“Rare earth metals are an important area of cooperation and, of course, we have started discussions on various rare earth metals and projects in Russia,” Dmitriev told pro-Kremlin Russian newspaper Izvestia.

Dmitriev, who was part of Russia’s negotiating team at talks with US officials in Saudi Arabia in February, said some companies have expressed interest in potential joint ventures. 

The Kremlin noted that such discussions remained in the early stages. “There are no specifics here yet, but the interest is evident,” spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday. “The interest is mutual, because we’re talking about mutually-beneficial projects.” 

Izvestia reported the cooperation on rare earths could be further discussed at the next round of Russia-US talks, expected to take place in Saudi Arabia in the coming weeks.

Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested in February the Washington might be open to exploring rare earth deposits in Russia, which holds the world’s fifth-largest reserves of the metals, used in magnets, mobile phones and military equipment.

“We would gladly work with any foreign partners including with Americans,” Putin said at the time, listing various regions including Siberia and and Russia’s Far East as key regions for rare earths mining.

US President Donald Trump said last week his administration would sign a wide-ranging minerals and natural resources deal with Ukraine soon. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy responded by saying he would not accept any agreement that threatened the country’s integration with the European Union.

Ukraine may have little choice but to proceed if it wants continued U.S. military support. 

Trump has claimed the impending deal would allow the US to recoup hundreds of billions of dollars spent on military aid to Kyiv. Ukraine, in turn, wants the agreement to include long-term US security guarantees against future Russian aggression.

The US Geological Survey estimates Russia’s reserves of rare earth metals at 3.8 million tonnes, but Moscow claims the actual figure is significantly higher.

(With files from Reuters)

The Ukrainian leader told reporters that Kyiv’s lawyers needed to review the draft before he could say more about the US offer, a summary of which suggested the US was demanding all Ukraine’s natural resources income for years.

He also said Kyiv would not recognize billions of dollars of past US aid as loans, though he did not say whether such a demand featured in the latest draft version received by a top government official.

Zelenskiy said the text was “entirely different” from an earlier framework agreement that he had been set to sign with Donald Trump before their talks descended into acrimony last month.

“I don’t want to set off a wave (of comments), I really want us to get a specific review by lawyers at the highest level,” Zelenskiy told the news conference in Kyiv.

The latest US proposal would require Kyiv to send Washington all profit from a fund controlling Ukrainian resources until Ukraine had repaid all American wartime aid, plus interest, according to the summary, reviewed by Reuters.

Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko told lawmakers that Kyiv would issue its position on the new draft only once there was consensus. Until then, public discussion would be harmful, she said.

Mykhailo Podolyak, a senior official in President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s office, told Reuters there was no finalized draft for now: “Consultations are still happening at the level of the various ministries,” he said, declining to elaborate further.

Another Ukrainian source described the full document presented by the Americans as “huge”.

Revised draft

The Trump administration, which has reoriented Washington’s policy towards endorsing Russia’s narrative about the three-year-old war in Ukraine, has been pressing Kyiv for weeks to sign a deal giving Washington a stake in Ukraine’s resources.

Zelenskiy has repeatedly said he accepts the idea, although he would not sign an agreement that would impoverish his country. On Thursday he said Washington was constantly changing the terms but that he did not want the US to think he was opposed in principle.

Three people familiar with the ongoing negotiations said Washington had revised its proposals. The latest draft gives Ukraine no future security guarantees and requires it to contribute to a joint investment fund all income from the use of natural resources managed by state and private enterprises.

According to the summary, it stipulates that Washington is given first rights to purchase extracted resources and recoup all the money it has given Ukraine since 2022, plus interest at a 4% annual rate, before Ukraine begins to gain access to the fund’s profits.

Ukraine’s 2024 budget revenues included, among other things, $1.2 billion of rent payments for the use of subsurface resources, $1.8 billion in dividends and other payments from the state share in state-owned companies, and $19.4 billion from profits at state-owned companies, finance ministry data showed.

The joint investment fund would be managed by the US International Development Finance Corporation and have a board of five people, three appointed by the US and two by Ukraine. Funds would be converted into foreign currency and transferred abroad.

(Reporting by Pavel Polityuk, Gram Slattery, Erin Bano and Andrea Shalal, Writing by Tom Balmforth; Editing by Jon Boyle)

The US has revised its original proposal, said the sources, and it gives Ukraine no future security guarantees but requires it to contribute to a joint investment fund all income from the use of natural resources managed by state and private enterprises across Ukrainian territory.

The terms put forward by Washington go well beyond the deal discussed in the days leading up to the contentious Oval Office meeting last month between US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has been leading negotiations for the United States, said one of the sources.

Bessent did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The proposal makes no mention of the US taking ownership of Ukraine’s nuclear power plants, according to the summary – something Trump had talked about.

Trump has said a minerals deal will help secure a peace agreement by giving the United States a financial stake in Ukraine’s future. He also sees it as America’s way of earning back some of the tens of billions of dollars it has given to Ukraine in financial and military aid since Russia invaded three years ago.

National Security Council spokesperson James Hewitt declined to confirm the terms of the latest proposal, but said the deal would strengthen the relationship between the US and Ukraine.

“The mineral deal offers Ukraine the opportunity to form an enduring economic relationship with the United States that is the basis for long term security and peace,” said Hewitt.

Ukraine’s ministry of foreign affairs did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

An earlier version of the deal proposed a joint investment fund where Ukraine would contribute 50% of proceeds from the future profits of the extraction of the state-owned natural resources. It also set out terms that the US and Ukraine would jointly develop Ukraine’s mineral resources.

Zelenskiy told reporters on Tuesday that the US had proposed a “major” new deal and that Ukrainian officials were still reviewing its terms.

Zelenskiy said on Thursday the US is “constantly” changing the terms of the proposed minerals deal, but added that he did not want Washington to think Kyiv was against the deal.

In an interview with Fox News earlier this week, Bessent said the US had “passed along a completed document for the economic partnership” and that Washington hopes to “go to full discussions and perhaps even get signatures next week.”

The new proposal stipulates that the US is given first rights to purchase resources extracted under the agreement and that it recoup all the money it has given Ukraine since 2022, in addition to a 4% annual interest rate, before Ukraine begins to gain access to the fund’s profits, according to the summary. The updated proposal was first reported by the Financial Times.

If agreed, the joint investment fund would have a board of five people, three appointed by the US and two by Ukraine, and the funds generated would be converted into foreign currency and transferred abroad, according to the summary. The fund would be managed by the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC).

A separate source with knowledge of the negotiations said there had been discussions about having the DFC administer the fund.

(By Erin Banco, Andrea Shalal, Gram Slattery and Tom Balmforth; Editing by Don Durfee and Daniel Wallis)

“We have passed along a completed document for the economic partnership (that) is currently being reviewed by Ukrainians, and we hope to go to full discussions and perhaps even get signatures next week,” he said in an interview with Fox News.

Late on Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy confirmed to the press that the US has offered Kyiv a new version of the minerals deal that extends beyond the framework agreed upon last month.

The proposed new deal follows a media brief by US President Donald Trump before Monday’s Cabinet meeting that an agreement will be “signed soon”.

The two countries were initially open to signing a deal back in February, but that was called off following a heated clash between Trump and Zelenskiy at the White House.

While details of the “new minerals deal” are undisclosed, Zelenskiy has confirmed the proposal does not include US involvement in its nuclear power sector, as Trump had suggested previously. All he could say was that the deal represents a “large, comprehensive agreement.”

One Ukrainian official told the Financial Times that Washington had brought up the nuclear issue in discussions but did not include it in the new proposal. Zelenskiy previously confirmed that the countries had conversations about the Zaporizhzhia power plant, which is Europe’s largest and now under Russian control, but talks did not go beyond that.

“Previously, we had a framework agreement, followed by the development of a full agreement. Now, the American side has proposed a grand agreement right away,” the Ukrainian President said on Tuesday.

A US Treasury spokesperson told Financial Times that “the United States remains committed to the quick conclusion of this vital agreement and to securing a lasting peace for both Ukraine and Russia.”

Under the previous framework, the minerals agreement would establish a fund to which Ukraine would contribute 50% of proceeds from the future profits of the extraction of state-owned natural resources.

News reports have suggested that Ukraine holds upwards of $10 trillion in mineral deposits, including those containing rare earth elements that are key raw materials in defense and high-tech applications. However, these deposits have yet to be internationally recognized as economically viable. Ukrainian data shows that the country has deposits of 22 of the 34 minerals identified by the EU as critical.

Speaking to reporters gathered at the White House ahead of his Cabinet meeting, Trump confirmed that a deal is close to being signed, adding that the two sides are also discussing American ownership of Ukrainian power plants, Reuters reports.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said last week that the two sides “only talked about one power plant, which is under Russian occupation”, referring to Zaporizhzhia, the largest nuclear power station in Europe.

However, The Guardian has reported that both Zelenskiy and Russian President Vladimir Putin would not be in favor of its inclusion in the minerals deal, and the idea of US ownership of the nuclear plant, which is currently in cold shutdown, “is not realistic.”

According to the UK-based newspaper, experts in Ukraine believe Trump’s interest in Zaporizhzhia could be linked to securing cheap energy to power the mining and processing plants as part of the rare earths deal.

Trump’s comments on Monday follow his recent remarks that efforts to achieve a peace deal for the country were going “pretty well” after a new round of talks with the Russian and Ukrainian leaders.

“We’re doing very well with regard to Ukraine and Russia. And one of the things we are doing is signing a deal very shortly with respect to rare earths with Ukraine,” the US President said during an event at the White House last week.

On Sunday, a US delegation met with officials from both Russia and Ukraine in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The talks have focused mostly on a Black Sea ceasefire, but Trump said “other issues are coming up” as he pushes for a halt to the war in Ukraine, Reuters reports.

The FT has learned, citing Ukrainian officials, that Washington wants to broaden the terms of the deal to include other assets, most notably a nuclear power plant that is currently under Russian control. It is also looking to add more specific provisions on American ownership of a joint investment fund.

These changes would, the sources said, essentially require a renegotiation of the unsigned minerals that fell apart last month.

The FT report comes a day after US President Donald Trump said that a minerals deal will be signed “shortly” following his talks this week with the Russian and Ukrainian leaders. The pledge was made following his signing of an executive order to increase US production of critical minerals. In addition to Ukraine, Trump said that his government is also looking at rare earths and minerals in other countries.

With the potential revision of terms, Ukrainian officials told FT they are concerned about Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s government “being pressured into unfavourable terms”, especially after Washington paused arms deliveries and intelligence sharing with Kyiv earlier this month.

During a phone call this week, Trump and Zelenskyy reportedly discussed Ukraine’s energy supply and nuclear plants, the FT said, citing both the secretary of state Marco Rubio and national security adviser Mike Waltz.

Zelenskyy told reporters during an online briefing on Wednesday that they discussed just one nuclear facility: the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Europe’s largest.

Located 650 km southeast of Kyiv on the Dnipro River, the facility has been under Russian military control since March 2022.

“The suspension of VAT refunds will place significant stress on our business, at a time when we are already managing many other challenges,” said executive chair Lucio Genovese.

Ferrexpo, which posted a surprise annual loss on Wednesday, said this suspension could lead to further reduction in its production and sales, in an already low iron ore price and high cost environment.

The tax suspension, imposed on two of Ferrexpo’s units, is related to the imposition of personal sanctions on Ukrainian billionaire Kostiantyn Zhevago, the company said, adding that the sanctions have not been imposed directly on the company or any of its units.

Zhevago, who controls the London-listed iron pellet producer, has been embroiled in alleged embezzlement lawsuits.

($1 = 41.4900 hryvnias)

(By Yamini Kalia; Editing by Rashmi Aich)

“One of the things we are doing is signing a deal very shortly with respect to rare earths with Ukraine,” Trump said Thursday during an education event at the White House.

The agreement fell apart late last month after a tense Oval Office meeting between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. Under that deal, Ukraine would contribute half of all revenues from future sales of natural resources, including minerals, oil, natural gas, hydrocarbons as well as infrastructure to a reconstruction fund jointly owned with the US.

Trump’s comments come one day after his top spokeswoman said the administration was moving beyond the previously negotiated minerals deal with Kyiv to focus more broadly on a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine.

“We are now focused on a long-term peace agreement,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Wednesday. “We’ve moved beyond just the economic minerals deal framework.”

Trump’s focus on Ukraine’s commodities has raised questions about what the nation really has to offer. It has no major rare-earth reserves that are internationally recognized as economically viable. Ukraine is an established producer of coal, iron ore, uranium, titanium, and magnesium, and expanding those sectors could be profitable for the US.

The president spoke about the Ukraine agreement shortly after he invoked emergency powers to boost the US’s ability to produce critical minerals, and possibly coal, as part of a broad effort to ramp up domestic production and lower reliance on imports.

“I also signed an executive order to dramatically increase production of critical minerals and rare earths. It’s a big thing in this country, and as you know, we’re also signing agreements in various locations to unlock rare earths and minerals and lots of other things all over the world, but in particular Ukraine,” Trump said.

(By Akayla Gardner)