Ukrainian titanium reserves may account for up to 20% of global supply
Ukraine's titanium reserves may account for up to 20% of the global total, positioning the country as a key player in extracting this strategic metal.
Source: geologist Dr Olena Remezova, Head of the Minerals Department at the Institute of Geological Sciences of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, in an interview with RBC-Ukraine
Quote: "We believe that if we factor in reserves, resources, and the share of underexplored and unexplored areas, Ukraine's titanium reserves could make up as much as 20% of the world's total. The Russians have always claimed we have only 1%, which is false. In reality, the best Russian titanium deposit would be inferior to even our average one."
Details: This makes Ukraine one of the key players in extracting this strategic metal.
"Ukraine is one of the few countries in Europe capable of extracting titanium," she stressed. "Among European nations, only Norway mines it and no one else does."
Remezova pointed out that titanium has numerous applications, with the added value of titanium products being exceptionally high. This includes the defence industry, aircraft, modern ships and weapons. In fact, any form of machine building requires titanium.
By combining titanium and lithium mining, it's possible to produce highly efficient batteries for hybrid cars. In some areas, titanium deposits in Ukraine overlap with lithium deposits.
"There are titanium deposits in Zhytomyr Oblast, plus a strip along the Dnipro River, and within the Ukrainian Deposit Subprovince," she said. "There are also deposits in the Azov region. Smaller ones in Kharkiv and Sumy oblasts. They may not be as attractive, though they could still be used in the future."
"In addition, titanium ores contain scandium and vanadium," Remezova added. "Scandium, by the way, is used in the alloys the Americans rely on for producing F-16 and F-35 aircraft. Several hundred kilogrammes of scandium are required to produce the modern alloys that give these aircraft their stability."
Background:
On 1 May, Ukraine's Economy Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko and US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent signed an agreement on critical minerals.
On 2 May, the Ukrainian government submitted the Kyiv-Washington agreement on establishing the Reconstruction Investment Fund to parliament for ratification.
On 6 May, the Foreign Policy Committee endorsed the ratification of the Ukraine-US minerals deal.
On 8 May, the Ukrainian parliament approved the ratification of the agreement to establish a joint investment fund between Ukraine and the United States. The vote passed with 338 MPs in favour, with no abstentions or opposition.
Earlier, Ukraine's Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal stated that Kyiv is ready to cooperate with the European Union on uranium, lithium carbonate, and titanium.
"Ukraine's subsoil contains 22 out of the 30 minerals listed as critical for the EU," he noted. "It ranks first in Europe in terms of uranium ore reserves, having the ability to meet its own energy needs as well as export uranium – especially as demand for nuclear power in Europe is on the rise."
Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Bloomberg
3 hours ago
- Bloomberg
Russia and Ukraine Start Prisoner Swap After Recriminations
Russia and Ukraine started a major prisoner exchange on Monday after days of wrangling cast doubt over the only concrete result of peace talks last week in Turkey. The first groups of prisoners under the age of 25 years were transferred by both sides, and the returning Russian soldiers are currently in Belarus, the Defense Ministry in Moscow said on its Telegram channel, without specifying the number exchanged. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy confirmed prisoners were returned from Russian captivity and said the process would continue in several stages over the coming days.
CNN
4 hours ago
- CNN
Soldiers return home after years in captivity as Ukraine-Russia prisoner swap begins
A new prisoner swap between Ukraine and Russia has begun, officials in both countries said Monday, with Ukrainian soldiers who have spent nearly the entire duration of the war in captivity among those returning home. The exchange, agreed last week during talks in Turkey, involves detained people under the age of 25, as well as those who are seriously wounded, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed on Telegram. It follows a dispute at the weekend during which Moscow accused Ukraine of holding up the exchange — a claim that Kyiv denied. 'Our people are home,' Zelensky wrote. 'Ukrainians are returning home from Russian captivity. The exchange began today and will continue in several stages over the next few days.' Among those being released are Ukrainian soldiers who defended the city of Mariupol, which suffered a brutal Russian assault in the first few weeks of the war, the Ukraine Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War said. The vast majority of those being released have been in captivity since 2022, according to Dmytro Lubinets, Ukraine's parliamentary commissioner for human rights. Russia's Ministry of Defense also confirmed that the exchange is underway. 'The Russian servicemen are currently in the Republic of Belarus, where they are receiving the necessary psychological and medical assistance,' the ministry said. Vladimir Medinsky, the head of Russia's delegation for peace talks with Ukraine, said last week that the exchange would be the largest since the start of the three-year war. He said Russia would transfer the bodies of more than 6,000 killed Ukrainian troops, plus an unspecified number of wounded servicemen. Monday's news comes after a weekend of accusations being hurled between both Moscow and Kyiv in relation to the exchange. Russia accused Ukraine of unexpectedly postponing the transfer of dead Ukrainian soldiers' bodies, leaving hundreds of body bags inside refrigerated trucks waiting at an exchange point it said Kyiv had agreed to. Ukrainian officials rejected Russia's account of events, saying that the two sides had agreed to exchange seriously wounded and young troops on Saturday, but a date had not yet been set for the repatriation of soldiers' remains. The prisoner swap was a result of a second set of direct peace negotiations that took place last Monday in Istanbul. Though the exchange was agreed upon, there were no major breakthroughs, with talks lasting a little over an hour. As the prisoner exchange will last multiple days, and is 'quite complex,' negotiations between Russia and Ukraine will 'continue virtually every day,' Zelensky said Monday. 'We count on the full implementation of the humanitarian agreements reached during the meeting in Istanbul. We are doing everything possible to bring back every single person. We are working toward this at every level,' he added.
CNN
4 hours ago
- CNN
Soldiers return home after years in captivity as Ukraine-Russia prisoner swap begins
A new prisoner swap between Ukraine and Russia has begun, officials in both countries said Monday, with Ukrainian soldiers who have spent nearly the entire duration of the war in captivity among those returning home. The exchange, agreed last week during talks in Turkey, involves detained people under the age of 25, as well as those who are seriously wounded, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed on Telegram. It follows a dispute at the weekend during which Moscow accused Ukraine of holding up the exchange — a claim that Kyiv denied. 'Our people are home,' Zelensky wrote. 'Ukrainians are returning home from Russian captivity. The exchange began today and will continue in several stages over the next few days.' Among those being released are Ukrainian soldiers who defended the city of Mariupol, which suffered a brutal Russian assault in the first few weeks of the war, the Ukraine Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War said. The vast majority of those being released have been in captivity since 2022, according to Dmytro Lubinets, Ukraine's parliamentary commissioner for human rights. Russia's Ministry of Defense also confirmed that the exchange is underway. 'The Russian servicemen are currently in the Republic of Belarus, where they are receiving the necessary psychological and medical assistance,' the ministry said. Vladimir Medinsky, the head of Russia's delegation for peace talks with Ukraine, said last week that the exchange would be the largest since the start of the three-year war. He said Russia would transfer the bodies of more than 6,000 killed Ukrainian troops, plus an unspecified number of wounded servicemen. Monday's news comes after a weekend of accusations being hurled between both Moscow and Kyiv in relation to the exchange. Russia accused Ukraine of unexpectedly postponing the transfer of dead Ukrainian soldiers' bodies, leaving hundreds of body bags inside refrigerated trucks waiting at an exchange point it said Kyiv had agreed to. Ukrainian officials rejected Russia's account of events, saying that the two sides had agreed to exchange seriously wounded and young troops on Saturday, but a date had not yet been set for the repatriation of soldiers' remains. The prisoner swap was a result of a second set of direct peace negotiations that took place last Monday in Istanbul. Though the exchange was agreed upon, there were no major breakthroughs, with talks lasting a little over an hour. As the prisoner exchange will last multiple days, and is 'quite complex,' negotiations between Russia and Ukraine will 'continue virtually every day,' Zelensky said Monday. 'We count on the full implementation of the humanitarian agreements reached during the meeting in Istanbul. We are doing everything possible to bring back every single person. We are working toward this at every level,' he added.
