Ukraine holds Europe’s largest reserves of three EU-critical minerals

“Natural graphite production in Ukraine fell by 88% between 2021 and 2024 due to temporary shutdowns of the only operating mine, electricity disruptions caused by Russian attacks and price pressure from rapidly growing Chinese supply,” the study said. “Notably, despite declining domestic production, the EU remained the main buyer: in 2022 and 2024, exports exceeded Ukraine’s annual production, indicating stock drawdowns and the commercial viability of Ukrainian graphite for European consumers.”

At the same time, in 2024, only about 2% of the EU’s total natural graphite imports came from Ukraine.

Even so, Ukraine ranked fourth in Europe by production volume in 2022–2024 and has about 17.9 million tons of natural graphite reserves — the largest in Europe — with tests confirming its suitability for producing battery-grade spherical graphite, the study said. In 2024, Ukraine produced about 1,200 tons of natural graphite but exported more than 2,800 tons.

With estimated titanium reserves of about 8.4 million tons — the largest in Europe — mostly concentrated in central regions, Ukraine could meet U.S. and EU demand for metallic titanium for about 25 years.

At the same time, production of titanium ores and concentrates in Ukraine fell by about 68% between 2021 and 2024.

“Despite this, Ukraine remained the second-largest titanium producer in Europe, and its share in EU imports remained stable over the past five years, reaching 13% in 2024,” the study said. “In addition, in 2024, the EU imported about 86% of Ukraine’s production, confirming its position as one of the main markets and underscoring a strong foundation for long-term offtake agreements.”

Ukraine has about 140 million tons of manganese reserves (by manganese content), the largest in Europe, mostly located in central and eastern regions, with historically low production costs through both open-pit and underground mining.

However, production has sharply declined.

“Manganese production in Ukraine fell by about 47% in 2023 compared with 2021. Nevertheless, it remained the largest in Europe in 2023, but in 2024 production stopped entirely due to risks associated with proximity to the front line, plant shutdowns and high electricity costs. Production partially resumed in 2025,” the study said.

In addition, Ukraine has about 500,000 tons of estimated lithium reserves — potentially the third-largest in Europe — mostly in central and eastern regions, but production has not yet begun.

At the same time, despite this potential, Ukraine currently plays a relatively minor role in EU critical raw materials value chains, the study said. The share of critical raw materials in Ukraine’s total exports to the EU over the past decade has ranged between 0.14% and 0.27%.

Since 2022, titanium has accounted for nearly all of Ukraine’s critical raw materials exports to the EU.

“The composition of Ukraine’s critical raw materials exports to the EU from 2015 to March 2025 shows increasing concentration in titanium,” the study said. “While manganese and natural graphite made modest contributions until 2021, manganese exports to the EU declined to negligible levels after the full-scale invasion, reflecting wartime disruptions, low ore quality and falling production. At the same time, the share of natural graphite exports has decreased significantly.”

The study notes that the country’s geological potential is constrained by several structural barriers:

— Russia’s war against Ukraine has disrupted logistics, energy supply and access to deposits;

— outdated and incomplete geological data;

— a weak investment environment characterized by high capital costs, inactive licenses and limited regulatory predictability.

As reported, in July 2025, the Cabinet of Ministers approved an updated list of strategically important minerals and components.