The land that stretches in Ukraine as the second largest country in Eastern Europe has natural wealth in it. It is evident from the results of its mining that it has also attracted the attention of a number of world companies.
The lands in the northwestern to southeastern region of Ukraine are divided into three major groups. The first group consists of a zone of sandy podzolic soil, a zone of black chernozem soil, and a zone of very fertile chestnut soil with reddish brown salts.
Two-thirds of the country's surface soil contains chernozem black soil. Ukrainian soil is called the most fertile chernozem soil in the world, as revealed by the Encyclopaedia Britannica.
So, what kind of natural wealth is stored in it?
Mining wealth in Ukraine
Ukraine has rich mineral resources. The abundance of minerals it has is even capable of complementing and being in areas that are close to each other.
A number of mining assets in Ukraine, as quoted from Ukraine Invest, include coal, iron ore, natural gas, manganese, salt, oil, graphite, sulfur, kaolin, titanium, nickel, magnesium, wood, and mercury. overflow.
According to the page's records, there are at least 117 types of mines identified from the 120 types found on Ukrainian soil. The total industrial wealth from these mining products even reaches up to $15.3 billion.
This also makes Ukraine one of the largest producers of metallic and non-metallic minerals in the world. The following is a list of the wealth of metallic and non-metallic minerals belonging to Ukraine.
1. Metallic minerals
Extraction of iron with a total of 39 million tons or 2.4 percent of the spread in the world. This wealth is ranked the 7th largest in the world.
Manganese extraction with a total of 651 thousand tons or 3.6 percent of the spread in the world. This wealth is ranked the 8th largest in the world.
Extraction of titanium with a total of 431 thousand tons or 6.3 percent of the world's distribution. This wealth is ranked the 6th largest in the world.
Gallium extraction with a total of 9 tons or 2.9 percent of the spread in the world. This wealth is ranked the 2nd largest in the world.
Extraction of germanium with a total of 1 ton or 1 percent of the world's distribution. This wealth is ranked the 5th largest in the world.
2. Non-metallic minerals
Kaolin extraction with a total of 2.4 million tons or 5.9 percent of the spread in the world. This wealth is ranked the 6th largest in the world.
Extraction of zirconium with a total of 26 million tons or 1.9 percent of the world's distribution. This wealth is ranked the 10th largest in the world.
Extraction of graphite with a total of 13 thousand tons or 1.3 percent of the spread in the world. This wealth is ranked the 8th largest in the world.
3. Mineral fuel
Extraction of coal for power plants with a total of 18.9 million tons or 0.4 percent of the world's distribution. This wealth is ranked the 13th largest in the world.
Extraction of coking coal with a total of 5.2 million tons or 0.5 percent of the world's distribution. This wealth is ranked the 12th largest in the world.
Extraction of uranium with a total of 1 ton or 1.4 percent of the world's distribution. This wealth is ranked the 10th largest in the world.
4. Lithium wealth in Ukraine
Lithium is a type of alkali metal that has become excellent in recent decades. Lithium needs in everyday life can be found in the batteries of electronic devices or electronic vehicles.
In addition to the previously mentioned, it turns out that Ukrainian soil also has a rich lithium content. In the underground region of eastern Ukraine, the researchers revealed, there are about 500 thousand tons of lithium oxide which is the source of lithium.
With these figures, Ukraine could become the world's largest supplier of lithium. Until the potential for lithium production in Ukraine attracted the attention of world companies such as Australia to China last November, reported The New York Times.
"The Australian company European Lithium says it is in the process of taking over the rights to take up promising lithium supplies in eastern Ukraine, Donetsk and central Ukraine, Kirovograd," the US media said.
In addition, the Chinese company Chengxin Lithium also applied for lithium supply rights in Donetsk and Kirovograd. While lithium is not a scarce resource, it is now almost irreplaceable in the production of batteries and electric vehicles. The price of lithium is even rumored to have increased by 600 percent over the past year.
For this reason, the scientist and former director of environment and natural resources at the United States National Intelligence Council (NIC), Rod Schoonover, said that the mineral wealth base in mainland Ukraine was one of the reasons for the Russian invasion there.
"This may not be the motivation for the invasion, but there is a reason why Ukraine is so important to Russia. And that is its mineral base," he concluded.