Ukraine, US to scout for minerals deal investment projects

KYIV (Reuters) -Ukrainian officials and a team from the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation will carry out site visits to identify investment projects as part of Kyiv's minerals deal with Washington, Ukraine's economy minister said on Saturday.

Ukraine and the U.S. signed the deal, which had been heavily promoted by President Donald Trump, in April, giving the United States preferential access to new Ukrainian minerals projects in exchange for investment.

The agreement is seen by Kyiv as a way of securing U.S. financial help to revive its economy and infrastructure - both battered by the war ignited by Russia's 2022 full-scale invasion - while ensuring continued U.S. support for Ukraine's defence.

Ukraine's Economy Minister Oleksiy Sobolev said the government was committed to advancing quickly to carry out the agreement and wanted to identify three pilot investment projects within the next 18 months.

"Right now, there are site visits ... from the U.S., and we are going to the regions tomorrow with them to look for an investment pipeline," Sobolev told a conference attended by Ukrainian, U.S. and European officials in Kyiv.

The U.S. has been Ukraine's single largest military donor as it battles Russian forces. But since his return to the White House this year, Trump has argued the U.S. should get something back for its aid to Kyiv.

Half the revenues the Ukrainian government earns from new mineral extraction under the deal would go to a joint investment fund with profits split between Kyiv and Washington.

Sobolev said that in addition to the minerals sector, where projects can be capital intensive with long implementation lead times, the U.S.-Ukraine fund would also invest in the energy sector and infrastructure.

Ukraine has deposits of 22 of the 34 minerals considered critical by the European Union for industries such as defence, high-tech appliances, and green energy. It also possesses ferro alloys needed by the steel industry, non-ferrous metals used in construction, and some precious metals and rare earth elements.

(Reporting by Olena Harmash; Editing by Joe Bavier)