Ukraine issues tender for major lithium deposit

Ukraine is welcoming bids to develop a major lithium deposit in its central Kirovohrad region as part of a minerals deal with the United States, even as a legal dispute looms over the project’s ownership.

The tender for lithium mining at the Dobra site was confirmed by Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko, during an announcement of Ukraine’s approved plans to tap into its vastly underexplored natural resources.

“We expect an investor who will ensure not only extraction but also the development of value-added,” Svyrydenko wrote on the Telegram app on Monday when making the announcement.

Ukraine holds about a third of Europe’s endowment of lithium, according to the Ukrainian Geological Survey. The Dobra tender is the first step in a minerals co-operation agreement between Kyiv and Washington, a centrepiece of the Trump administration’s “transactional approach” to Ukraine and its push to chip at China’s dominance in metals. But the tender sets up a clash with New York-based Critical Metals (Nasdaq: CRML).

Potential dispute

Critical Metals claims it controls the rights to Dobra through its top shareholder, Australia’s European Lithium (ASX: EUR).

Shares in Critical Metals fell 5.3% to $5.87 apiece in New York on Tuesday, its first trading day since the Ukraine move, valuing the company at $609 million. European Lithium’s stock closed 2.1% weaker on Tuesday in Sydney at A9.2¢ each for a market capitalization nearing A$132 million ($86.1 million).

Mykhailo Zhernov, a board member at both companies, stated in a July interview with the Financial Times that the Dobra license was originally due to be issued to Petro Consulting, which European Lithium acquired in 2024. Despite a court ruling ordering the government to issue the licence the previous year, he said it was never formally granted.

However, neither Critical Metals nor European Lithium provided FT with documentation of the licence or the ruling.

Dublin-based mining investment firm TechMet, which counts the U.S. government as one of its largest investors, also expressed its interest in developing the lithium asset. Its CEO Brian Menell said earlier this year that his company had been evaluating the project since 2023, and confirmed to FT that it will make a bid when the tender launches.

$179M investment

On its website, Ukraine’s economy ministry said that the winner of the tender would sign a 50-year agreement and commit to investing at least $179 million.

“This amount includes both funding for geological exploration and the launch of production and enrichment,” it stated.

Western countries, including the U.S., are seeking to reduce reliance on Beijing for critical minerals, a push reinforced by President Donald Trump’s tariffs this year on a range of metals. The U.S.-Ukraine deal gives U.S. companies preferential access to Ukraine mining projects, while profits will be reinvested locally.

The country’s critical minerals account for about 5% of the global total, while the Dobra site contains significant reserves of lithium, Ukrainian officials say. Lithium is a critical component in batteries and is mined in regions such as Australia and South America, but China dominates global processing.