Ukraine's Rare Earth Map Comes Into Focus-But the Hard Part Still Lies Ahead

Highlights

• New research identifies Ukraine's significant light rare earth potential in zircon-ilmenite and apatite deposits, with cerium, lanthanum, neodymium, and praseodymium dominating reserves across seven promising sites including Novopoltavske and Azovske.
• While Ukraine possesses geologically promising rare earth mineralization, the study emphasizes that having resources underground differs vastly from having operational industry—complex metallurgy, separation capacity, and infrastructure gaps remain unresolved.
• The paper synthesizes existing data rather than providing new drilling results, offering valuable deposit classification but lacking bankable feasibility assessments needed for commercial rare earth production at scale.

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A new paper by O. V. Lozhnikov, A. V. Pavlychenko, O. O. Shustov, and N. I. Dereviahina of Dnipro University of Technology argues that Ukraine has significant potential for both light and heavy rare-earth elements, especially through zircon-ilmenite, apatite, and related mineral systems. The message is straightforward: Ukraine may possess a more important rare earth resource base than many assume, but having mineralization in the ground is not the same as having a working rare earth industry, as Rare Earth Exchanges™ community members know all so well.

The study shows that Ukraine’s deposits appear to lean heavily toward light rare earths—especially cerium, lanthanum, neodymium, and praseodymium—while heavy rare earths such as terbium, dysprosium, erbium, and ytterbium appear in smaller but strategically valuable concentrations. The paper’s real value is not that it proves Ukraine is ready to challenge China or become an immediate major producer, but that it helps clarify where the country’s geological promise may lie and what major gaps still stand in the way.

Importantly, this is not a drilling or feasibility study. The authors synthesize prior geological, market, and production data, then classify Ukrainian deposits using the European Commission’s light-versus-heavy REE framework. They compare both primary and placer deposits and attempt to connect deposit attractiveness to global demand, rarity, and oxide pricing.

Findings

The findings are directionally important. Ukraine’s primary deposits appear to be dominated by light rare earths, with cerium, lanthanum, and neodymium accounting for the largest identified shares. Placer deposits show a similar pattern. The paper identifies Novopoltavske, Mazurivske, Azovske, Yastrebetske, Stremyhorodske, Motronivske, and Irshanske among the more promising targets, while stressing that many are complex ore systems in which rare earths would likely need to be recovered alongside titanium, zirconium, apatite, scandium, vanadium, and other minerals.

That point is one of the paper’s strengths: it correctly recognizes that resource potential is not the same as industrial readiness.

A Long Way to Go

The authors also acknowledge the need for a modern geological database, updated beneficiation methods, investor transparency, and some form of closed-loop mining-to-processing chain.

And Serious Limitations

Still, the limitations are serious. This is a classification and synthesis paper, not a bankable techno-economic assessment. It does not resolve core commercial questions around metallurgy, recoveries, capex, permitting, infrastructure, radioactive byproducts, or midstream separation capacity.

The optimism is understandable, but the hard truth remains: Ukraine may have promising deposits, yet it does not presently have a fully developed rare-earth industry.

Citation: Lozhnikov, O. V., Pavlychenko, A. V., Shustov, O. O., & Dereviahina, N. I. (2026). Prospects for the Development of Light and Heavy Rare Earth Elements from Zircon-Ilmenite Deposits in Ukraine. Naukovyi Visnyk Natsionalnoho Hirnychoho Universytetu, 2026(1), 13–24. https://doi.org/10.33271/nvngu/2026-1/013 (opens in a new tab)