The epidemic of violence – Royal Examiner

UKRAINE: A perspective on why we need to get involved.

Did you know that Ukraine has the largest titanium reserve in Europe? There are 15 known deposits in different parts of the country, four of which are being explored. These deposits are located in the Kharkiv, Kiev, Donetsk and Dnipropetrovsk regions. The country also has the largest uranium deposit in Europe, accounting for 1.8% of the world’s uranium deposits. The proven reserves are estimated at 45,600 tons of uranium. However, neither titanium nor uranium should be a cause for concern.

GRAPHITE (a key component of electric vehicle (EV) batteries, other technologies (such as smartphones), and even low-tech ones like pencils). Ukraine has 300 graphite deposits, which contain more than 1 billion tons or 20% of the world’s graphite. Only China has more graphite reserves (26% of the world’s total graphite reserve). Other important resources include mercury (2% of the world, 30,000 tons, ranking 5th after Spain, China, Algeria, and Kyrgyzstan), potassium salt, gold, building materials, ornamental stones, and hydroelectric resources. So what does all this have to do with us? Against this background, it’s hard to imagine that Russia and China don’t have a plan.

• The Chinese are long-term thinkers. They are known for their 100-year plans. The Chinese have a much larger economic goal and their strategy for years has been to dominate the world’s natural resources.

• Russia wants to reclaim “territory” to restore the glory that was once the USSR. Ukraine is just a stepping stone for Russian expansion. Crimea was their first. With Ukraine under Russian control and the alliance between Russia and China, China (given their cooperation agreements) would control almost 50% of the world’s graphite reserves. So why does this matter to us? Who cares about graphite? As mentioned above, graphite is used in pencils, steel production, and electronics like smartphones. BUT… Perhaps the most important application is the lithium-ion battery, where graphite even surpasses lithium as the main ingredient. In fact, there is 10 to 30 times more graphite than lithium in a lithium-ion battery.

Let’s keep expanding our thinking.

LITHIUM (most known for its use in batteries, but also used in medical purposes, ceramics, glass, an alloy to strengthen materials like aluminum, etc.) The four largest lithium producers are Australia, Argentina, Chile, and China. China, the third largest producer, has a strong position in the lithium supply chain. In addition to developing domestic mines, Chinese companies have acquired approximately $5.6 billion worth of lithium assets in countries like Chile, Argentina, Canada, and Australia over the past decade. It also hosts 60% of the world’s lithium battery refining capacity. It’s the way China does business. They invest in countries – short or long term. Short term – they tie the $$ provided to countries with a quid quo pro of using Chinese labor for projects in the country; long term – to gain control of the natural resources to increase their % of the world supply. And not to ignore the fact – Russia is also investing in Argentina to use that country as a gateway to Latin America. Result: Now that we control the lion’s share of the world’s raw materials for both graphite and lithium, how much will the world pay for the batteries used in electric vehicles in the future?

Want more reasons? IRON ORE and MANGANESE ORE (why are they important?)

IRON ORE:
• Ukraine, Australia and Russia have the largest share of iron ore deposits in the world. Many analysts agree that demand from China ultimately determines iron ore prices. China is the third largest producer of usable iron ore. If China were to gain access to another iron ore deposit in Ukraine, the global price of iron ore could fall, as the largest customer would gain access to an annual production increase of 51 metric tons. As it stands, China currently produces about 353 metric tons per year (an additional 51 metric tons would result in a 15% increase in the capacity they control).

MANGANESE ORE:

• Ukraine is among the ten largest producers of manganese ore in the world and has the largest manganese ore reserves in Europe.

• Applications of manganese ore include:
o Production of high strength steel alloys
o Deoxidizer and desulphurization in steel production
o Batteries (alkaline and rechargeable)
o Alloy with metals such as aluminum and copper
o Micronutrients in fertilizers and animal feed
o Water treatment chemicals
o Colorant used on car paint
o Production of bleaching powder, insecticides, paint and batteries.

CONSIDER THIS

We need to make sure that Russia (and also partner China) is punished by Ukraine. In the short term this will be difficult, because we are talking about Putin’s ego and he does not seem interested in backing down. Is there a risk? Of course. But giving territory to Russia as a concession is not the answer and increases the likelihood of future aggression. We saw what happened with Crimea.

In the long run: Russia and their partner China are gaining significant control over a greater percentage of the world’s natural resources – some of which are critical to our future efforts to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels. I wanted to emphasize these points for you to think about when you hear some of our representatives attempt to withdraw their support for NATO and/or our support for helping Ukraine maintain its independence from an encroaching neighbor. On a humanitarian level, the people of Ukraine are suffering from aggression by Russia, a dangerous adversary. As an independent country, Ukraine wants peace, just like any of us. For their families and for their children. Do you think they are much different than we are? We paid a high price for a free Europe in WWII.

Are we abandoning those who have been counting on us for over 80 years? They are our global partners. From both an economic and humanitarian perspective, helping to defend Ukraine is in the interest of our national security and the future well-being of our country and our key partners in Europe. Since World War II, we have been trusted to protect the freedoms that exist in many countries around the world. It is in our DNA. We are now seeing other countries joining the fight – Sweden, Finland, Norway, Poland, Germany, etc. We must encourage this, not abandon them, and help them maintain pressure/resistance against tyranny. We must not lose sight of the importance of this issue for all of us. This issue requires us to show our positive support for our allies across the pond, regardless of the outcome of our elections.

I encourage you to write letters to your representatives in both Congress and the Senate and the members/leaders of your political parties of choice. We must continue to support Ukraine and send a united message to Russia and China. Thanks for reading.

Kenneth Roko
Middletown, VA

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