The joint US-Ukrainian Reconstruction Investment Fund (URIF) has sealed its inaugural critical minerals agreement, Reuters reports.
The agreement joins four other new initiatives to support Ukraine.
According to Reuters, the deal injects roughly US$30 million ($43.14 million) into a joint investment platform alongside Ukrainian firm BGV Group.
US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) Head of Investments Conor Coleman says the capital will initially target early-stage exploration and mining projects across Ukraine, focusing on rare earths, uranium, beryllium, and zirconium deposits.
“They are all on the US critical minerals list, so it ties in very well with what we’re looking to do from a (US) administration priority (standpoint),” Coleman said in an interview.
The agreement brings the fund’s active portfolio to around US$70 million across five targeted strategic sectors, including minerals, defence, energy, and infrastructure.
URIF was created under a bilateral minerals pact signed in April last year following an initiative driven by US President Donald Trump.
Coleman noted that the fund is seeking additional capital to broaden its reach.
Two of the additional initiatives announced aim to reinforce Ukraine’s power and heating infrastructure ahead of winter.
One project complements a US$100 million DFC loan to Ukraine’s largest private energy developer DTEK for a backup battery system designed to supply power to nearly 600,000 households.
The fund will also secure an equity stake in a combined heat and power co-generation platform to build and operate energy hubs aimed at restoring damaged power and heating grids.
Write to Paula Fabe at Mining.com.au
Main image: Unsplash
