Titanium is widely used in the weapons industry.

Photo: Taken from Newsweek.

Titanium is among the reasons behind the support of the United States and its allies for Kiev in the war with Russia, according to the weekly

Newsweek

.

The publication notes that "there is a nascent effort underway in the US and allied nations to identify, develop and utilize Ukraine's vast reserves of a key metal for the development of the West's most advanced military technology, which will form the backbone backbone of future deterrence against Russia and China.”

In an article dated January 28, the American publication recalls that titanium is a lightweight but strong metal, widely used in advanced military applications such as combat aircraft, helicopters, warships, tanks, long-range missiles, and many others. military equipment.

“If Ukraine wins, the US and its allies will be in the first position to work on a new titanium pipeline.

But if Russia manages to seize the country's deposits and plants, Moscow will increase its global influence over increasingly strategic resources

.

According to

Newsweek

, the Department of the Interior has classified titanium as

one of 35 mineral commodities vital to America's economic and national security, but the country "still imports more than 90% of its iron ore, and not all of it." friendly countries”.

It adds that the US no longer has sponge titanium (a metallic aggregate used for the addition and adjustment of titanium as an alloying element in steel) in its national defense stockpile, and the last domestic producer of sponge titanium closed in 2020.

Ukraine is one of seven nations that produce sponge titanium, the basis for metallic titanium.

China and Russia, the most prominent strategic rivals pointed out by the United States and NATO, are in that select group.

According to

Newsweek

, China produced more than 231,000 tons of sponge titanium in 2022, according to the US Geological Survey, 57% of global production.

It is followed by Japan, with 17%, and Russia, with 13%.

In addition, Kazakhstan produced almost 18,000 tons, and Ukraine more than 4,000.

Newsweek

reports that the

West's reliance on Russian titanium

means the metal has so far escaped the sanctions campaigns launched against Moscow by the US, the European Union and their allies.

Aerospace giant Boeing maintains its joint venture with Russia's VSMPO-Avisma, the world's largest titanium exporter, though it froze orders after the start of the war.

Others, like the European commercial aircraft corporation Airbus, continue to source titanium from VSMPO.

A source with knowledge of the US defense industry, who did not want to be named because she was not authorized by her employer to speak publicly, told

Newsweek

that

titanium "is a key vulnerability

. "

“We are talking about our ability to produce more aircraft, our ability to produce munitions.

Everyone depends on titanium, and

we have allowed ourselves to become increasingly dependent on foreign suppliers

for these things.

Russia has previously been one of those primary suppliers,” she said.

The American publication recalled that national security experts and defenders of Ukraine in Congress are increasingly urging politicians to look east.

Last year's annual defense spending bill directed the State Department to investigate the "feasibility of

using Ukrainian titanium sources as a potential alternative to Chinese and Russian sources."

A congressional staffer, who also requested anonymity, told

Newsweek

that "Ukraine has really significant deposits of rare earth minerals, and if we play our cards right, it could be a

really attractive alternative to Russian and Chinese sources

, which is where there is a lot of dependency nowadays”.

The source added that “as there are increasing debates across the West about why it is in our interest to continue supporting Ukraine, I think this is one of the arguments you are going to start hearing more about.”

Another valuable mineral mentioned in recent months is lithium

.

In March 2022,

The New York Times

recalled that Ukrainian sources have estimated that the eastern region of the country is home to some 500,000 tons of lithium oxide, a source of lithium.

Ukraine's potential for lithium production was already attracting attention before the war.

In November 2021, European Lithium, an Australian company, reported that it was in the process of obtaining the rights to two promising lithium deposits in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine and in central Kirovograd.

The company said then that it aspired to become the largest lithium supplier in Europe.

That same month, Chinese company Chengxin Lithium also applied for the rights to the Donetsk and Kirovohrad lithium deposits, according to media reports, which would allow it to break through in Europe, the

NYT

noted .

The American newspaper noted that “although lithium is not a particularly scarce resource, it is currently virtually irreplaceable in batteries, and demand is expected to skyrocket with the take-off of electric vehicles, causing automakers to strive to ensure a sufficient supply.

Lithium prices have risen as much as 600% in the past year.

“And

there are growing concerns that the global supply of lithium, as well as other minerals critical to the clean energy transition, is controlled by a handful of countries

.

China, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Australia account for three quarters of the world's production of lithium, cobalt and rare earths.

“Earlier this week [March 2022],

17 military experts wrote a letter to Lloyd Austin, the US Secretary of Defense, stressing the need for the US to strengthen its access to minerals.”

(With information

from Newsweek

, agencies and

The New York Times

)