Russia seized a deposit containing 500,000 tons of lithium – one of the most promising in Ukraine
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The Russians have taken control of another strategic lithium deposit in Ukraine – near the village of Shevchenkove in the Donetsk region. This is reported by the French newspaper Le Figaro and NADRA.INFO.

This is the second Ukrainian lithium deposit to fall into the hands of the occupiers. The first – Kruta Balka, located closer to the Sea of Azov – was seized at the beginning of Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine.

The Shevchenkove deposit, considered one of the most promising in Ukraine, was discovered in 1982. This location contains deposits of the highest quality raw material – spodumene, from which lithium is extracted much more efficiently.

According to official estimates, the spodumene content in the Shevchenkove deposit reaches 90% – this level is not found anywhere else in Ukraine.

Previously, Ukrainian geologists suggested that the country could become one of the largest lithium producers in the world, because the total reserves in the deposit were estimated at over 500,000 tons, which is more than the European leader Portugal has.

In addition to lithium, the deposit near Shevchenkove also contains reserves of tantalum, niobium, beryllium, cesium, rubidium, and tin.

The anti-corruption organization ANTAC stated that the occupation of this deposit is a huge loss for the Ukrainian economy, because the investment attractiveness of such deposits would be extremely high after the war.

Two other known Ukrainian lithium deposits – "Dobro" and Polokhivske – are located in the Kirovohrad region. However, due to the war, occupation, and lack of infrastructure, none of the deposits discovered in Ukraine have yet been put into industrial development.

  • On June 18, Yulia Svyrydenko announced that the "Dobry" lithium deposit in the Kirovohrad region could become the first pilot project within the framework of the American-Ukrainian Reconstruction Fund.