Even if further exploration confirmed the existence of valuable mineral deposits, extracting them would take a long time — and a lot of cash.
The Ukrainian Geological Survey (UGS) estimates the cost of exploiting Ukraine’s 10 largest known mining prospects at $15 billion — comprising the construction of mines, quarries and around 20 new processing facilities.
One of these prospects is the Novopoltasvke deposit — which the UGS describes as “one of the largest” rare earth sites in the world. Its development would require investment estimated at $300 million. A separate UGS report characterizes the site as “relatively difficult” due to the flooding and landslide risks.
The Novopoltavske deposit, first discovered in 1970, was explored in the 1980s — but no development work has been done there since 1991. It is one of Ukraine’s six known deposits of rare earth elements — a group of 17 minerals used to manufacture missiles, lasers, computers, TVs, smartphones and wind turbines.
Not so rare
While rare earths are actually not that rare, they are very costly to extract and process, as they are jumbled together with other minerals in varying concentrations.
China — which processes nearly 90 percent of rare earths worldwide — holds a “near monopoly” over this step in the supply chain, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Most major rare earth producers, including the U.S., lack the domestic know-how or infrastructure needed to refine the minerals, forcing them to rely on Beijing.
