Rare earth minerals produced by Australia's Lynas Corp. from its Mount Weld operations are displayed near Laverton, Western Australia, on Aug. 23, 2019.

Here is what we know about rare earths—and what might be in the ground in Ukraine. 1. Rare Earths, Not so Rare Kyiv claims that its untapped mineral wealth is of potentially extraordinary worth.

Zelenskyy’s highly anticipated meeting with Trump was scheduled at the White House, where both sides were expected to sign a minerals agreement to allow the United States access to the Eastern European country’s rare earth minerals in return for U.S.

In response, China imposed an additional 34 percent tariff on imported U.S. goods, which is due to take effect on April 10, and unveiled export controls on certain rare-earth minerals.

The two leaders planned to solidify a deal on Feb. 28, exchanging U.S. aid for Ukraine in its war with Russia for a share of Ukraine’s rare earth minerals, but their press conference unraveled into a spat over the possibility of a cease-fire agreement

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is holding out for firmer security guarantees from the United States before he's ready to accept a deal to provide the United States with access to his country's rare earth minerals and other natural resources.

Chinese processors produce 85 percent of the “20 most important rare earth minerals” sold on global markets, Jekielek said. The CCP’s import restrictions are “a wake-up call” for the West to secure its supply chains, Burgum said.

American taxpayers have provided approximately $350 billion to Ukraine for defense over the past three years, the president said, while vowing to secure Ukraine's rare earth mineral rights to collateralize the debts owed to the United States.

This week, he announced he had taken steps on an agreement in which Ukraine would trade access to its rare earth minerals in exchange for U.S. aid. “No one wants peace more than Ukraine.

His remark showed his ongoing frustration over trade talks, particularly Beijing’s decision to slow shipments of rare earth minerals as leverage against Washington. “I don’t want to play those cards,” Trump said.

, a board member of American Rare Earths and co-chair of the Critical Minerals Institute, previously told The Epoch Times.

The meeting was meant to see the deal signed for U.S. investment to go into Ukraine to jointly develop the nation’s vast rare earth minerals resources in exchange for past and ongoing military aid from the United States.

During a talk with the Atlantic Council on Feb. 4, Wilkinson also mentioned a number of areas in which Canada could cooperate with the United States to undercut China's dominance, including jointly investing in a germanium project and in a rare earth

“Greenland itself has rich rare earth minerals, and Ukraine also has rare earth deposits,” he told The Epoch Times on June 24.

The meeting, initially intended to finalize an economic cooperation agreement granting the U.S. access to Ukraine’s rare earth minerals in exchange for continued military support, devolved into a heated exchange over the path to ending the war.

For example, the world depends on China for rare earth minerals, of which 60 percent are produced and 90 percent are processed there.

It has also placed export restrictions on rare-earth minerals that are critical for manufacturing high-tech items like weapons, semiconductors, and batteries.

Western countries have sought to reduce their dependence on China's critical minerals in recent years, given moves by China to impose strict export controls on rare earths.

He said later that a deal with Ukraine is nearly finalized to grant the United States access to the country’s rare earth minerals in return for the U.S. aid provided thus far.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent met with Zelenskyy on Feb. 12 to advance talks on this deal to trade further U.S. support for Ukrainian rare earth minerals. Bessent said this arrangement could provide Ukraine with an added security guarantee.

Rare earth minerals and other key trade items are expected to be discussed. Since China’s trade representatives have been defiant, it will be interesting to see if there will be any breakthroughs.

Despite rising global demand, Africa’s full potential in rare earth minerals and other critical minerals remains untapped due to low levels of exploration.

That dependence did not arise because rare-earth minerals are scarce. They are not. Nor did it arise because China alone possesses the technical capacity to mine or refine them.

Beijing has imposed a 34 percent tariff on U.S. imports and placed export controls on certain types of rare-earth minerals in a retaliatory move against Trump’s tariffs.

Since the first round of U.S. tariffs in Trump’s second term, Beijing has launched a series of countermeasures, including placing tighter export controls on certain types of rare-earth minerals and adding more U.S. firms to its “unreliable entity list

Shredders chop through a solvent-ore mix at Empire State Mines in Gouverneur, N.Y., in November 2025, where a mine that produces graphite, a critical mineral, may also soon be mining geranium, a rare-earth element.

They also depend on rare earth minerals that are currently mostly mined in third-world nations such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo and by companies controlled by the Chinese Communist Party, which frequently employs child labor.

As the largest producer of rare earth minerals outside of China, CEO Amanda Lacaze says China didn't make any secret about what it was up to.

The meeting, initially meant to finalize an economic agreement granting the United States access to Ukraine’s rare earth minerals, devolved into a heated exchange over the path to ending the war.

"One of the things we are doing is signing a deal very shortly with respect to rare earths with Ukraine, they have tremendous value in rare earths and we appreciate that."