The article notes that the raw materials of greatest practical significance for international supply chains are titanium, natural graphite, manganese, uranium, zirconium and hafnium. At the same time, lithium, beryllium, germanium, tantalum and rare-earth metals are of high strategic interest, but require further geological, technological and investment verification.
The authors emphasise that Ukraine has the opportunity to become part of the policy pursued by the EU, the US and other partners to reduce strategic dependencies in supply chains. However, this requires a shift from a focus on raw material exports to the development of a complete value-added chain — from geological exploration and extraction to enrichment, processing and the manufacture of components.
Among the main challenges for Ukraine, the experts identify the war and physical security, the quality and international verification of geological data, insufficient development of processing capacity, regulatory risks, and the need to comply with environmental and social standards.
In the short to medium term, the priorities identified include the restoration and modernisation of the titanium, graphite, manganese and uranium sectors; the auditing of lithium, zirconium and rare-earth deposits in accordance with international standards; the preparation of investment projects; and the establishment of processing facilities.