The term critical minerals is not a scientific term so much as a political term, and different countries have different lists of critical minerals depending on their domestic and geopolitical objectives.
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has rebuffed an initial attempt by the US to corner his country’s critical minerals as a downpayment for continued military and economic aid for its war with Russia.
According to Ukraine’s own data, cited by Reuters, the country has deposits of 22 of the 34 minerals identified as critical by the EU, including rare earths such as lanthanum, cerium, neodymium, erbium and yttrium.
Rare earth elements (REEs) are a subset of 17 critical minerals that are variously indispensable for mobile phones, electric vehicles, missile guidance systems and other electronics, industrial and energy applications.
Critical minerals are the metals and other raw materials needed for the production of hi-tech products, particularly those associated with the green energy transition, but also consumer electronics, artificial intelligence infrastructure and weapons.
