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Seabed-Mining Firm Faces Legal Questions Over Trump Policy

21 juillet 2025 à 13:03
After Trump pledged to open international waters to mining, The Metals Company sought U.S. permits. But other countries are raising legal concerns.

© Tamir Kalifa for The New York Times

A ship chartered by The Metals Company in 2021 to explore the potential of seabed mining.

China’s Hardball Tactics Set Tone for Difficult Summit with Europe

21 juillet 2025 à 00:01
Beijing is betting that economic pressure and diplomatic defiance will force concessions, but its stance could put more strain on its ties with Europe at a crucial time.

© Gilles Sabrié for The New York Times

A shipping terminal in the city of Chongqing, which connects China with countries in Europe and elsewhere.

What to Know About the Rare Earths Mining Boom in Myanmar

11 juillet 2025 à 01:26
In the chaos of war, there’s nothing to stop Chinese firms from ravaging the landscape and extracting the minerals, which end up in China.

© Daniel Berehulak/The New York Times

A gold mine in Karen State in Myanmar last year. Chinese state-owned firms and criminal networks control the extraction of many natural resources in Myanmar.
  • ✇The Kyiv Independent
  • EBRD to unlock $1 billion in credit for Ukraine's key sectors, considers mineral projects
    The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) will enable Ukrainian banks to provide up to 900 million euros ($1.05 billion) in new loans by sharing credit risks, the EBRD announced in a press release on July 7.The loans will target companies in agribusiness, manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, transport and logistics, as well as energy security projects.The mechanism will be announced at the Ukraine Recovery Conference (URC) in Rome on July 10-11. This represents the largest risk-shar
     

EBRD to unlock $1 billion in credit for Ukraine's key sectors, considers mineral projects

7 juillet 2025 à 13:59
EBRD to unlock $1 billion in credit for Ukraine's key sectors, considers mineral projects

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) will enable Ukrainian banks to provide up to 900 million euros ($1.05 billion) in new loans by sharing credit risks, the EBRD announced in a press release on July 7.

The loans will target companies in agribusiness, manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, transport and logistics, as well as energy security projects.

The mechanism will be announced at the Ukraine Recovery Conference (URC) in Rome on July 10-11. This represents the largest risk-sharing facility implemented in Ukraine since the war began, according to the EBRD's press release.

Due to destructive Russian attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure, the EBRD will also focus on supporting distributed generation and renewable energy projects.

Russian forces have damaged most of Ukraine's thermal power plants and about 30% of power stations, disrupting nearly two-thirds of the country's total electricity generation, the bank says.

The EU, together with other EBRD donors, has developed plans to de-risk renewable energy investments to attract more private capital, which they will announce at the URC.

Nearly one-third of EBRD's wartime financing to Ukraine — 2.4 billion euros ($2.8 billion) — has gone to the energy sector. This includes support for state-owned electricity transmission and gas companies, as well as financing for hydropower and small-scale distributed generation.

In a pre-URC press release, the EBRD also expressed interest in supporting the development of a natural graphite deposit in Ukraine following the U.S.-Ukraine minerals agreement. Graphite is a strategic material used in batteries and defense applications.

The bank will launch the second phase of digitizing Ukraine's paper-based geological data archive to make information about mineral deposits more accessible, the EBRD reports.

Since Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022, the EBRD has invested over 7.2 billion euros ($8.4 billion) in Ukraine's economy.

Zelensky, Trump discussed replacement of Ukraine’s US ambassador, source says
Oksana Markarova has held the post since April 2021, and played a central role in coordinating U.S. military and financial support during the early phases of Russia’s full-scale invasion.
EBRD to unlock $1 billion in credit for Ukraine's key sectors, considers mineral projectsThe Kyiv IndependentTim Zadorozhnyy
EBRD to unlock $1 billion in credit for Ukraine's key sectors, considers mineral projects

Clashes ongoing in eastern Ukrainian village near lithium deposits, as military rejects claims of Russian capture

27 juin 2025 à 12:18
Clashes ongoing in eastern Ukrainian village near lithium deposits, as military rejects claims of Russian capture

Active fighting is still taking place around the village of Shevchenko in Donetsk Oblast, home to one of Ukraine's largest lithium deposits, a spokesperson for Ukraine's Khortytsia group of forces told the Kyiv Independent on June 27, denying reports Russia had occupied the village.

Earlier on June 26, Russia'a Defense Ministry said it had captured Shevchenko along with another other small settlements in the Velyka Novosilka region of the oblast, as Russian troops continue to push along all areas of the front line.

The spokesperson said that while Russian forces had pushed out Ukrainian soldiers on June 26, the situation is constantly evolving and subject to change several times a day.

"This is one of the two most intense directions right now," Viktor Trehubov, the spokesperson, told the Kyiv Independent.

According to the Ukrainian Geological Survey, the Shevchenkivske deposit covers nearly 40 hectares (98 acres) on the eastern outskirts of Shevchenko. Exact data on the Shevchenkivske deposit's lithium reserves are classified, but it's considered one of the most promising.

The deposit's main reserves consist of lithium ores, but it also contains other rare elements such as rubidium, cesium, tantalum, niobium, beryllium, and tin.

Ukraine is home to 20 of the world's critical minerals and metals like titanium used in the aerospace and defense industries and lithium, an essential component of electric vehicle batteries.

The U.S.-Ukraine minerals deal, signed April 30, specifically mentions lithium as one of the mineral resources that both parties could profit from extracting.

Despite the deposit's relatively small size, it could be operated by a single mine, which could make extraction more efficient, according to a Ukrainian Geological Survey data.

The survey classifies the deposit in the highest complexity category of three possible levels, which could complicate development.

According to KSE, Ukraine holds one-third of the European Union's lithium reserves and approximately 3% of global lithium reserves.

Putin under pressure to declare war on Ukraine, but experts say Russia isn’t ready
Despite suffering over 1 million casualties, pounding Ukrainian cities nightly with missiles and drones, and committing countless war crimes, one startling fact about Russia’s full-scale invasion remains — Moscow has yet to officially declare war on Ukraine. In February 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin described what he believed was going to be a swift victory and the capture of Kyiv within days as a “special military operation.” Nearly three-and-a-half years later, the Kremlin is stuck
Clashes ongoing in eastern Ukrainian village near lithium deposits, as military rejects claims of Russian captureThe Kyiv IndependentChris York
Clashes ongoing in eastern Ukrainian village near lithium deposits, as military rejects claims of Russian capture
  • ✇The Kyiv Independent
  • Ukraine moves forward on lithium mining under US minerals deal, NYT reports
    More than a month after Ukraine signed a landmark agreement granting the United States a stake in its mineral reserves, Kyiv has approved initial steps to open one of its largest lithium deposits to private investors, the New York Times (NYT) reported, citing two government officials.On June 16, the Ukrainian government agreed to begin drafting recommendations for a bidding process to develop the Dobra lithium field in central Ukraine. According to the officials, who spoke to NYT on condition of
     

Ukraine moves forward on lithium mining under US minerals deal, NYT reports

16 juin 2025 à 15:46
Ukraine moves forward on lithium mining under US minerals deal, NYT reports

More than a month after Ukraine signed a landmark agreement granting the United States a stake in its mineral reserves, Kyiv has approved initial steps to open one of its largest lithium deposits to private investors, the New York Times (NYT) reported, citing two government officials.

On June 16, the Ukrainian government agreed to begin drafting recommendations for a bidding process to develop the Dobra lithium field in central Ukraine. According to the officials, who spoke to NYT on condition of anonymity, this would be the first project advanced under the U.S.-Ukraine minerals deal.

The Dobra lithium ore site is located in the Novoukrainskyi district of Kirovohrad Oblast, rougly 300 kilometers southeast of Kyiv.

The deal, signed by President Volodymyr Zelensky on May 12, is aimed at deepening economic ties, boosting Ukraine's reconstruction, and positioning the country as a supplier of strategic resources to the U.S.

Among the likely bidders for the Dobra field is a consortium including TechMet, an energy investment firm partly owned by the U.S. government, and billionaire Ronald S. Lauder, a close associate of the U.S. President Donald Trump. The group has long expressed interest in the Dobra site and encouraged Zelensky to open it to bids last year.

Under the broader agreement, half of the revenues from mineral extraction would go to a joint U.S.-Ukraine investment fund. While the Ukrainian government would reinvest its share into the domestic economy, the United States would claim a portion of the profits — a structure Mr. Trump has framed as partial repayment for U.S. assistance to Ukraine.

TechMet CEO Brian Menell said investors were pushing for production-sharing agreements, which offer long-term stability and tax incentives. Monday’s step toward opening the Dobra field is based on such an arrangement, according to the outlet.

Ukraine war latest: Russia ramps up its summer offensive in several directions, seeks to encircle Kostiantynivka
Key developments on June 16: * Russia ramps up its summer offensive in several directions, Ukraine’s military says * Ukraine receives 1,245 bodies of fallen soldiers and citizens, concluding Istanbul repatriation deal * ‘Russians lie about everything’ — Ukraine hits out at Kremlin claims after yet another drone strike on Kyiv * Russia to
Ukraine moves forward on lithium mining under US minerals deal, NYT reportsThe Kyiv IndependentThe Kyiv Independent news desk
Ukraine moves forward on lithium mining under US minerals deal, NYT reports
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