A consortium with close ties to US President Donald Trump's inner circle has been awarded the right to develop a major lithium deposit in Ukraine following a tender.
It was reported by The New York Times.
It is about Dobra field in the Kirovohrad Region. According to the State Service of Geology and Subsoil, the field is located between the villages of Novostankuvata and Ternove and covers an area of about 17 square kilometers.
"Dobra" is considered one of the largest deposits of lithium in Ukraine, a strategic raw material used, among other things, in the production of batteries for electric vehicles and other modern technologies. In addition to lithium, the deposit may contain tantalum, niobium, rubidium, beryllium, tin, cesium, tungsten, and gold ores.
The site is to be developed in the format of a production sharing agreement. This mechanism allows investors to extract minerals, transferring part of the products to the state.
The winning consortium includes, in particular, Ronald S. Lauder, the heir to a large cosmetics corporation, who has known Donald Trump since his college days. According to the NYT, it was he who had previously suggested to Trump the idea of a possible acquisition of resource-rich Greenland. Another participant is TechMet, an energy firm owned by the US government's investment agency, which was created during Trump's first term in office.
Two members of the Ukrainian government commission who evaluated the bids and spoke to reporters anonymously assured that the winner was determined without bias. According to them, the consortium scored more points than its competitors, having fulfilled most of the tender requirements.
At the same time, The New York Times draws attention to a possible conflict of interest. The US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), which represents the American side in the so-called "subsoil deal" with Ukraine, owns a stake in TechMet, a company that is part of the winning consortium.
The terms of the tender required a minimum investment of USD 179 million. One of the commission members noted that the winner's investment commitments exceeded this level.
However, the path from signing the agreement to actual production will be long. The consortium will have to conduct detailed geological studies to assess the real reserves and economic feasibility of development, as well as invest in equipment and infrastructure. According to industry experts, the transition from field discovery to commercial production usually takes about 15 years.
As the Ukrainian News agency earlier reported, the President of the United States of America Donald Trump emphasized that he had signed an economic agreement with Ukraine, which provides access to land resources and this agreement is of great importance for the US economy and security.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also said that the agreement on economic cooperation between Ukraine and the United States, signed on April 30, is an important step on the way to ending the full-scale war in Ukraine.
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