Volkonski wrote: ↑Mon Jun 10, 2024 8:37 am
Not exactly what was said.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/lindsey-gr ... 6-09-2024/
They're sitting on 10 to $12 trillion of critical minerals in- in Ukraine. They could be the richest country in all of Europe. I don't want to give that money and those assets to Putin to share with China. If we help Ukraine now, they can become the best business partner we ever dreamed of, that 10 to $12 trillion of critical mineral assets could be used by Ukraine and the West, not given to Putin and China. This is a very big deal how Ukraine ends. Let's help them win a war we can't afford to lose. Let's find a solution to this war. But they're sitting on a gold mine. To give Putin 10 or $12 trillion for critical minerals that he will share with China is ridiculous.
I've been following the Ukraine war extremely closely since the opening days to assess the implications for my employer, and I haven't previously heard a single word about major unexploited critical mineral deposits in UKR. This is a staggering amount -- nearly 100x the $160 billion GDP of the country, and it would put them in enviable position economically relative to the rest of the world. It may be true, but I'm a little suspicious of the timing.
The
USGS 2019 global mining assessment shows Ukraine as a capable producer of a number of minerals and metals, but doesn't mention any of the usual critical minerals at all. Yeah, they produce 4% of the global supply of Titanium sponge, but most of what's used in aircraft comes (50% of global demand) from Japanese sponge mills that use Russian ore. For reasons I don't recall, sponge from most other sources isn't suitable for aerospace applications.
I've seen the "critical minerals" gambit being trotted out to bolster a political stance in the past. In particular, there was the
unexpected discovery of $1 trillion of critical materials in Afghanistan, just as we're getting set to leave the country. The timing was suspicious because it was used by some to a) justify not leaving and b) stoke fear of China getting their hands on it (Afghanistan shares a very small border with China via the nearly deserted Wakhan Corridor, which China is talking about putting a railroad in).
It sure sounds like Lindsey is trotting this argument out to get the GOP to go along with more aid to Ukraine -- "if we keep sending them weapons, they'll pay us back by sending us all $12 trillion of that stuff and it will pay for itself." Unfortunately, when coming from a Republican, that's about as credible as "we'll build the wall and get Mexico to pay for it."
Note that I'm not suggesting that, if these critical mineral deposits exist, that Ukraine will sell them to Russia and China -- they're not going to do business with Russia ever, and they'll remember for a long time how China helped Russia. They want to join NATO and the EU because they don't want to be a kleptocracy like Russia. They'll negotiate a good deal for their resources. I'm merely suspicious of how Lindsey is harping on this surprising new discovery right at this moment.