@Sitzkrieg
And Trump proves me right, manufacturing and feigning outrage at Zelenskyy to justify refusing aid while he figures out how many times he can give oral pleasure to Putin at one sitting.
Kyiv has agreed terms with Washington on a minerals deal that Ukrainian officials hope will improve relations with the Trump administration and pave the way for a long-term US security commitment.
Ukraine agrees US minerals deal after Washington drops toughest demands https://www.ft.com/content/1890d104-1395-4393-a71d-d299aed448e6
-- Financial Times (@financialtimes.com) February 25, 2025 at 1:33 PM
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#38 | Posted by brass30 at 2025-02-25 10:06 PM
So break this down for me. ... Ukraine is giving something, I assume they get what in return? And is Ukraine simply giving up the land lost in the war?
It's a nothingburger, PR opportunity for Trump. No one is getting anything of real value, it's MOU - Ukraine is not getting a defense guarantee and is only giving "access" to REE mining in the areas that are now occupied by Russia - just as agreements with financial firms like BlackRock and JPM and several E&P companies to develop gas fields and help post-war reconstruction, signed before and after Russian invasion.
Just another Trump's Apprentice s**tshow to stroke his ego, after his opportunistic extortion offer bombed ("Can't blame a guy for trying, right?") He will sell it as a "great win and looking after the American people."
Putin is selling Trump the same "access" to the same REEs in "new territories":
www.newsweek.com - Map Shows Ukraine's Rare Earth Minerals That Putin Wants To Sell to Trump (!)
www.newsweek.com - Ukraine Defies Trump As Zelensky Unanimously Backed
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#37 | Posted by Corky at 2025-02-25 10:05 PM
In the news, as it turns out, there's something else going on here. The 'valuable minerals' were said to be valuable by Russian studies decades ago using antiquated techniques. Also, experts say it could take that long again to extract enough material to make it worthwhile.
REEs are not rare. www.usgs.gov - USGS | Rare Earths Statistics and Information
www.usitc.gov - Recovering Rare Earth Elements from E-Waste: Potential Impacts on NdFeB Magnet Supply Chains - October 2024 {PDF, 41 pg}
With BEVs and "renewable energy" losing their popularity (b/c batteries are expensive and don't "save the planet" from "climate change," among many other issues) the need for and prices of many REEs have been dropping almost as fast as the price of Bitcoin, DJT, $TRUMP and $MELANIA.
e.g., REE-adjacent Li: carboncredits.com - The Lithium Paradox: Price Plummet, Supply Surge, and Demand Dip? - September 16, 2024
China is dominant in production, but from 2019 to 2022 the US was the world's largest global exporter of REEs.
More valuable than actual supply and extraction is the processing / separation of REEs from ore (like oil refineries for crude) where China has distinct advantage because it invested in that.
KoBold Metals, a company funded in part by Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos, has been looking for suitable new REE mining locations in Greenland for 2 years, but is currently more interested in African locations. Large potential deposits have been recently found in Wyoming, Canada, Norway...
According to a 2022 report, Ukraine has ~5% of the world's mineral resources, including 22 of the 34 "critical" - lanthanum, cerium and erbium, etc. - and has ~500K tons of lithium reserves, and 20% of the world's graphite, used in nuclear plants. Russia currently controls about 20% of Ukraine where possibly 40% of metal resources are located.
public.flourish.studio - World's map of known mineral deposits (JPG)
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So break this down for me.
Ukraine is giving something, I assume they get what in return? And is Ukraine simply giving up the land lost in the war?
And what's Putin's play in all this? Sure he got some territory but he'll be happy with the deal US/Ukraine made and walk away for the time being?
#38 | Posted by brass30
Here's a good video explaining what is happening on a macro and more micro level in regard to the deals and Rare Earth Elements. Most of them are in regions that are under Russian control or currently very close to being so. I am not sure Putin ends up with territory.
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