The United States is currently engaged in intense confrontation with China, and in order to counter China, the U.S. is taking a series of seemingly incomprehensible measures.
While these actions appear resolute when it comes to dealing with China, many times they seem more like attempting to solve a massive puzzle, especially concerning energy development projects.
Ukraine possesses numerous untapped lithium mine resources, which has caught the attention of the United States.
As the U.S. has realized the importance of new energy, especially the metal lithium required in battery technology, lithium has been regarded as a strategic resource.
The U.S. is concerned that China controls the majority of lithium resources, viewing it as a threat to the United States.
To compete with China globally, the U.S. is attempting to prevent China from accessing lithium resources.
Although various commercial and possibly conspiratorial means have been employed, including intervening in political situations, the U.S.'s goal is clear—to prevent China from developing lithium resources globally.
Currently, the U.S. is collaborating with Ukraine, aiming to surpass China in lithium mine extraction and processing.
Indeed, Ukraine does have lithium mine resources, but most of these resources were discovered forty years ago and have never been mined.
Currently, Ukraine still remains under the shadow of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, making any investment in mining highly risky.
Although this plan may seem dubious, it is proving to be no joke.
According to a report from the Russian news agency TASS on May 27th, Oleh Akhmiadzyn, the head of the People's Servant faction in the Ukrainian parliament, claimed that the U.S. proposed to establish a joint company with Ukraine for lithium mining and processing to surpass China.
Ukraine has significant lithium reserves, and therefore the U.S. hopes to invest in lithium mining and processing in Ukraine to compete with China.
However, the U.S.'s plans to prevent China from accessing lithium resources globally are often unrealistic.
In reality, many of the U.S.'s plans are virtually unfeasible, with low feasibility.
Additionally, for Ukraine to establish a lithium industry chain to surpass China, although American capital is willing to invest, the likelihood of success is extremely slim.
According to statistics, since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Russia has controlled at least $12.4 trillion worth of mineral resources in Ukraine, including the majority of lithium mines.
This means that even if the U.S. invests in lithium mining in Ukraine, it is unlikely to profit much, as most of the lithium resources are in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions controlled by Russia.
The U.S.'s attempt to establish a lithium mining industry chain in Ukraine is, in fact, unrealistic.
Lithium mining is just one step, and establishing the lithium industry chain involves more complex processing and manufacturing processes.
Currently, most of the lithium industry chain is concentrated in China, and the U.S. lacks critical technology and processing capabilities.
Therefore, even if lithium mining is conducted in Ukraine, most of the lithium ore would need to be transported to China for processing.
Similar plans, including manufacturing chips in the Philippines and mining rare earths in Mongolia, are considered some of the world's most unreliable plans.
These plans may impact future development but are actually being carried out in extremely high-risk conditions.
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