Automatically translated version. May contain inaccuracies compared to the original.
The United States is investing in uranium and rare earth metals extraction.
A joint US-Ukraine recovery investment fund has signed its first critical minerals deal and agreed to four additional projects, Reuters reports, citing a senior American official.
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The minerals-and-resources framework fund, created under the minerals agreement that the two countries signed in April last year following pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump, focuses on five strategic sectors: minerals, defense, energy, and infrastructure.
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Conor Coleman, head of investments at the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), said the fund’s total project value is now about $70 million and demonstrates Washington’s support for Kyiv in its protracted war with Russia.
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“It is absolutely essential for the Ukrainian people that we invest now,” Coleman said in an interview, referring to the damage Ukraine is expected to suffer ahead of another winter.
The long-awaited first minerals deal envisions investing about $30 million in a joint investment platform with BGV Group — a company founded by Hennadiy Butkevich, a billionaire and co-owner of Ukraine’s largest supermarket chain ATB.
Coleman said the platform will initially focus on early-stage mining projects in various regions of Ukraine and will target deposits of rare earth elements, uranium, beryllium, and zircon.
“All of these are on the U.S. critical minerals list, so this aligns well with the administration’s stated priorities,” Coleman said.
Two of the other newly announced projects are aimed at strengthening Ukraine’s electricity and heat supply systems in response to intensified Russian strikes on critical infrastructure ahead of winter.
Coleman said one of them will add nearly $100 million that the DFC has just agreed to provide as a loan to Ukraine’s largest private energy company, DTEK, to build a new energy-storage system. It will provide backup power to about 600 thousand Ukrainian households for up to two hours.
The project will have access to capital if damages occur. The fund will also receive a stake in a cogeneration platform for heat and power designed to create and operate a series of “energy hubs.” They are intended to help restore damaged electricity and heating for households.
According to Coleman, the fund is currently seeking additional capital to expand its capabilities.
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