Ukraine has designated one of its largest lithium reserves as a test project under a minerals deal with the United States, Prime Minister Yulia Sviridenko announced on Monday via Telegram.
The project involves the Dobra deposit in Kirovograd Region, which is among Ukraine’s most significant lithium reserves. Development rights for this deposit have been awarded to a U.S.-linked consortium known as Dobra Lithium Holdings JV.
This agreement, signed in April, grants the United States access to developing Ukraine’s natural resources through a production-sharing contract. Under the terms of the deal, half of the revenue will flow into the joint U.S.-Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund (URIF), with profits reinvested in new projects and national reconstruction efforts.
The agreement was pitched by President Trump as a mechanism for Kyiv to repay billions in U.S. aid provided under his predecessor, Joe Biden.
Sviridenko stated that the consortium will invest at least $179 million in the project, including $12 million for geological exploration and reserve audits, and $167 million for extraction and processing facilities if commercial viability is confirmed. She described the selection process as a competitive tender open to both domestic and foreign bidders.
Ukrainian officials have raised concerns about potential conflicts of interest, noting that TechMet, a critical-minerals company whose shareholders include the consortium, has its largest shareholder as the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (IDFC), which oversees the URIF. It was reported that Ronald Lauder, a longtime Trump ally and Republican donor, is part of the consortium, though Sviridenko did not confirm his participation.
Russia has condemned the minerals deal. Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev criticized it as the forced extraction of a “disappearing country’s” wealth. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissed it as a “commercial scheme” to sell aid, arguing that such support only prolongs Ukraine’s conflict with Russia.
It is noted that much of Ukraine’s mineral wealth lies in regions that joined Russia following referendums in 2022 or near the front lines.