Name: CNN visits Ukrainian titanium mine amid potential U.S. deal
Uploaded: 2025-02-28T01:42:33.281Z
Duration: 2 min 50 s
Description: As Washington and Kyiv appear to be reaching a deal that would allow American access to Ukraine’s untapped mineral riches, CNN’s Nick Paton Walsh visits a titanium mine in Irshansk, Ukraine.

As Washington and Kyiv appear to be reaching a deal that would allow American access to Ukraine’s untapped mineral riches, CNN’s Nick Paton Walsh visits a titanium mine in Irshansk, Ukraine.

Kyiv

Russian forces have invaded Ukraine from land, air and sea with strikes causing widespread damage. Global leaders have condemned the move and imposed sanctions.

Ukraine Invasion

CNN's Nick Paton Walsh has recently visited a titanium mine in Irshansk, Ukraine, during an examination of Ukraine's mineral wealth and potential U.S. interest in these resources. A deal is apparently on the horizon between Washington and Kyiv to grant American access to Ukraine's undeveloped minerals, which include titanium, lithium, graphite, and potentially rare earth materials. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has been promoting the nation's mineral wealth to international investors as part of a broader strategy to secure more aid.

Irshansk's titanium mine is emblematic of Ukraine's struggle amid the ongoing conflict. The mine faces significant operational challenges due to disruptions in Ukraine's power grid caused by Russian bombardments, reducing it to as little as three hours of electricity per day. As a result, production costs have increased, and there is urgent need for investment to modernize aging infrastructure. The Ukrainian Government believes that with the right financial backing, its natural resources sector could become significantly more productive.

Despite the potential mineral wealth that Ukraine might offer, the complexities of extracting and processing these resources are significant. The initial framework deal under discussion does not clearly outline specific mineral targets, referring only to "relevant resource assets" to be elaborated in future agreements. The aluminum foundry in Zaporizhia is an example of the challenges at play; previously damaged and partially operational, it illustrates the obstacles in revamping Ukraine's industrial capabilities to meet U.S. needs.



CNN visits Ukrainian titanium mine amid potential U.S. deal

We very much need rare earth. They have great rare earth. A moonshot for Ukraine's survival. Talking peace suddenly means talking about places like here, this lunar landscape. A titanium mine struggling under the Russian bombardment of Ukraine's power grid, sometimes with only three hours power a day. We don't know how our work will go even tomorrow, because every day we see how Ukraine's energy system is being destroyed. Our enterprise is very unstable now and this leads to a very high cost of our production. Half a trillion dollars. That was the sum that President Trump initially thought Ukraine might be able to pay back to the United States, in his words, and here you're going to sense the challenge, really, because this place, yeah, potential is certainly there, but they say they desperately need investment. These machines are so old, and yet so, they say they would welcome American money. The pressure to get money out of the ground is enormous, as are the questions as to whether the astronomical sums Trump thinks are here can match the money to be made under this sprawling sea of unknown potential. Man, who knows what rare earth is worth, you know, but at least it's something, and who knows what it's worth? Who knows if they even have it? It was, at first, Ukraine's idea, President Zelensky selling their mineral wealth in November, perhaps too successfully, as part of a victory plan for more aid, showing reporters' maps here. They claim 7% global production of titanium. Lithium isn't mined yet, but they say they've 3% global reserves. They say they're in the top five of graphite reserves and have some actual rare earth metals. The initial framework deal doesn't specify what it covers, mentioning only relevant resource assets that will be further described in another agreement. Yet the White House has been specific about some resources. There's a foundry that processes aluminum in Ukraine. It's been damaged. It's not at its current capacity. If that is restored, it would account for America's entire imports of aluminum for an entire year. Waltz is probably referring to here, an aluminium plant in Zaporizhia, mothballed when filmed here a decade ago, still struggling and hit by a missile during the war. The US, perhaps a little too eager to take Ukraine, with no choice but to give in a hugely complex deal that may get messier still when it runs into the cold, hard ground truth of where Ukraine is at today.

Injuries have been reported after a UPS plane crashed near the Louisville International Airport on Tuesday, officials said.

Louisville

UPS plane crashes near airport in Kentucky, officials say

The U.S. Senate's 14th vote on a House-passed continuing resolution to fund the government has failed, setting up the shutdown to become the longest ever in American history.

Washington

Senate vote fails again to reopen government

A new UN report reviews the gap between countries’ climate commitments and global emissions targets.

UN report reveals climate pledges 'barely moving the needle'

Peru has severed diplomatic relations with Mexico after learning that former prime minister Betssy Chávez, accused of helping ex-president Pedro Castillo attempt a coup in 2022, has taken refuge in the Mexican embassy in Lima.

Lima

Peru cuts ties with Mexico over asylum for ex-prime minister

Former U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney has died at the age of 84. He was a major force in the Republican party for more than 30 years and served as vice president under former President George W. Bush.

Former U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney dies at 84

There has been a sharp escalation in bloodshed in the conflict since Rapid Support Forces fighters captured the city of al-Fashir.

Al Fashir

United States working to secure a humanitarian truce in Sudan

The Trump administration says it will restart the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, but will only pay half the amount people usually get. The move comes after two federal judges ruled that freezing payments for the U.S.'s biggest anti-hunger program is unlawful.

Trump administration will partially restore food benefit funding

Manufacturing giant Kimberly-Clark is set to acquire Kenvue, the maker of Tylenol, for $48.7 billion. CBS News MoneyWatch correspondent Kelly O'Grady has more details.

Kimberly-Clark to buy Tylenol maker Kenvue for nearly $50 billion

Russia said on Monday that its troops had advanced in the eastern Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk, a transport and logistics hub that they have been trying to capture for over a year, but Ukraine said its forces were holding on.

Pokrovsk

Ukraine sends special forces to Pokrovsk

Israeli police have arrested a former military prosecutor after she leaked a video appearing to show soldiers abusing a Palestinian detainee. Major General Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi was detained overnight on Monday following a scandal that erupted after she leaked a video, resigned and then disappeared.

Jerusalem

Middle East Conflict

Israel arrests ex-army lawyer over leaked video showing abuse

U.S. President Donald Trump told 60 Minutes he thinks Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's days are numbered amid the U.S. striking another boat in the Caribbean allegedly transporting drugs.

Trump sounds off on Venezuela's Maduro as deadly boat strikes continue

A mayor in Mexico's western state of Michoacan was shot dead in a plaza in front of dozens of people who had gathered for Day of the Dead festivities, authorities said. Local politicians in Mexico are frequently victims of political and organized crime violence.

Michoacán

Mexican mayor killed during Day of the Dead celebrations

A 6.3-magnitude earthquake struck near the northern Afghan city of Mazar-e Sharif early on Monday, killing at least 20 people, injuring hundreds and damaging the city's historic Blue Mosque, authorities said, with the death toll likely to rise.

Mazar-i-Sharif

Deadly earthquake rocks northern Afghanistan

More than 200,000 people are expected to attend the Los Angeles Dodgers' victory parade on Monday after they won the World Series over the weekend. The Dodgers defeated the Toronto Blue Jays in 11 innings in Game 7 to become the first team in 25 years to win back-to-back World Series.

Los Angeles

Dodgers to hold championship parade after World Series victory

A 32-year-old man suspected of carrying out a bloody stabbing on a United Kingdom train is facing at least 10 criminal charges. CBS News' Ramy Inocencio has the latest.

London

UK train stabbing spree suspect faces attempted murder charges

Hamas handed over bodies of three hostages on Sunday (November 2), even as the Palestinian militant group traded blame with Israel for violations of the tenuous truce that has mostly halted two years of war.

Tel Aviv-Yafo

Hamas hands over three more hostage bodies amid fragile ceasefire

Israel has threatened to increase attacks on Hezbollah in southern Lebanon if the Lebanese government doesn't disarm the militant group, despite a ceasefire.

Israel warns of intensified strikes on Hezbollah if disarmament fails

U.S President Donald Trump has long promised to build a ballroom on the White House campus.
He originally said it wouldn’t touch the existing structure. But after just four days, the East Wing is gone. Torn down to make way for a much bigger ballroom than originally planned.

Trump’s $300m White House ballroom project sparks controversy

Two more suspects, a man and a woman arrested this week over the jewel heist at the Louvre, have been charged and remanded in custody, prosecutors have said. The charges on Saturday brought the number of people now charged over the spectacular robbery to four.

Paris

Two more charged over Louvre jewelry heist

British police say eleven people were injured, most of them seriously, in a mass stabbing on a London-bound train Saturday evening. Authorities have arrested two British-born men and are investigating their motive in the incident.

UK police rule out terrorism after mass stabbing on train

Egypt has officially opened the Grand Egyptian Museum in Cairo, the world's largest museum dedicated to an ancient civilization. The new museum features tens of thousands of artifacts, including the full collection from King Tutankhamen's tomb.

Cairo

Grand Egyptian Museum opens after two decades of construction

Voters in New York, New Jersey, Virginia and California have already hit the polls for early voting before election day on Nov. 4. CBS News producer Jared Ochacher is following the New York City mayoral race.

New York

Mamdani commands double-digit lead over opponents in NYC mayoral race

The two-day APEC summit in South Korea has wrapped up with President Lee Jae Myung handing over hosting duties to China. Chinese President Xi Jinping has announced the southern city of Shenzhen as the site for next year's summit.

Seoul

Rise of AI

Global Tariffs

APEC summit ends, Trump and Xi reach truce in trade war

When a US aircraft carrier arrives in the Caribbean next week, there will be 14,500 American troops in and around Puerto Rico. The Trump administration says it's aimed at curbing drug trafficking. But many fear something much bigger to come.

San Juan

Fears of conflict in Caribbean amid U.S military build-up

The coastal town of Black River, described by the Jamaican government as Hurricane Melissa's "ground zero," lies devastated after one of the most powerful Atlantic storms on record tore through the island, claiming at least 19 lives and leaving a trail of unprecedented destruction.

See The Full Story

Ukraine Invasion