People of Ukraine Minerals Robbed by Capitalism

Rare Earth Elements replace Oil as the reason for War

“Give us what we want or else!” Like the criminals they are, Trump, Musk and Tech Billionaires want to force Ukraine to hand over their Rare Earth Elements and Critical Minerals.¹ Trump says that this is payment for US aid. But like everything else he says, this is a smoke screen for the real objective, control of Ukraine’s Rare Earth Elements and Critical Minerals.¹ People of Ukraine Minerals Robbed by Capitalism

What are rare earth elements and critical minerals? Rare earth elements are a group of 17 minerals that you probably never heard of, such as lanthanum, cerium and yttrium.² Critical minerals are a group of 12 elements many of which you have heard of, such as cobalt, lithium, and gallium.³

What are they good for? Critical minerals and rare earth elements are fundamental to the world economy. They are a vital part of electronic devices including electric cars, microchips, cell phones, televisions, computers, batteries, as well as jet engines and satellites.^3,4

The new electronics-based, AI-run economy needs rare earth elements and critical minerals. If you control these minerals, you control the world. Currently, China controls 70% of the global production of rare earth elements and critical minerals. The US and European capitalists are fighting China and each other for control of this new source of profits.

The Ukraine is only one of the current battles. Greenland and The Democratic Republic of Congo (Congo) are two others.

The Ukraine is already a lesson in what capitalism inevitably does: the top soil in the Ukraine is 4 feet deep, the deepest in the world. For 200 years, it has been the bread basket of Europe. Now the war as filled the soil with highly-toxic depleted uranium and the lands have the world’s greatest concentration of land mines.

Greenland. Greenland has one of the highest concentrations of gallium, a key component in semiconductors, and world’s second largest reserves of rare earth elements.⁵ The US wants these elements. Greenland is a self-governing part of Denmark, the people of Greenland, the Danish government and the EU are not willing to sell Greenland to the US. If Trump can’t buy Greenland, he is willing to invade it. This is not a Trump fantasy; it is a real threat.

Congo. Three years ago, the Rwandan-backed M23 army invaded the Kivu province of Congo. This area provides over 40% of the world’s coltan, a rare earth element used to power smartphones and computers.⁶ M23 controls coltan mining, sends it to Rwanda, which then sells it to Europe. The US is now trying make a deal with the Congo for direct access to the coltan. The growing war between Congo and Rwanda is also a battle between US and European Tech billionaires.

In the old oil-based economy, “The world’s economy ran on oil. People stole for it. Nations killed for it.”⁷ History shows us that small wars to control oil grew into big wars where working and poor people suffered while the capitalists got richer.

Rare earth elements and critical minerals are the new oil and the capitalists are willing to kill to control them. The small wars have already begun.

We do not have to repeat history! Rare earth elements and critical minerals are not anyone’s private property. They do not belong to one person or one country. They are part of our natural world and belong to all of us.

If we want to end war, poverty and injustice we will need to end private property. It is up to us, and we can do it!

Let’s talk.

1. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/feb/21/trump-zelensky-ukraine-rare-earth-minerals
2. https://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2014/3078/pdf/fs2014-3078.pdf
3. https://www.iea.org/topics/critical-minerals
4. https://www.usip.org/sites/default/files/2024-04/critical-minerals-africa-senior-study-group-final-report.pdf
5. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/m-mining-industry-ceo-let-203510528.html
6. https://www.cfr.org/global-conflict-tracker/conflict/violence-democratic-republic-congo
7. https://www.usmcu.edu/Outreach/Marine-Corps-University-Press/Books-by-topic/MCUP-Titles-A-Z/Oil-War/

Recommended: BBC: What minerals does Ukraine have and what are they used for?

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c20le8jn282o