The investment agreement between Ukraine and the United States championed by US President Donald Trump, which aims to boost Ukraine’s mining and energy sectors, is not expected to deliver results for at least a decade, according to experts cited in the Financial Times.

Approved by Ukraine’s parliament on 8 May, the deal includes the creation of a joint “reconstruction investment fund” intended to support future mining and energy projects. However, industry leaders caution that mining operations in Ukraine require long lead times and substantial private sector investment, according to FT.

Eric Rasmussen, former head of natural resources at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, said that “It could be 10-15 years — that’s the sort of timeline we talk about“.

Peter Bryant of advisory group Clareo added that the deal “does little to de-risk the supply chain in the next 10 years.” Ukraine’s resource base includes iron ore, coal, lithium, graphite, and titanium-bearing ores, and it is Europe’s third-largest gas producer. While oil and gas fields may be quicker to develop, observers noted that mining projects will face years of geological exploration before reaching feasibility stages.

Ukrainian Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said the fund would be operational “within a few weeks,” though she acknowledged profits would not be distributed for at least a decade.

“We expect that for the first 10 years, fund profits and revenues will not be distributed, but instead reinvested,” she stated.

US-backed TechMet, which seeks to secure Ukrainian lithium, called the deal promising but noted it would take time and money to develop sites. Meanwhile, DTEK, Ukraine’s top private energy firm, confirmed talks with US companies and welcomed the signal that Ukraine was “open for business.”

Despite optimism among some investors, others remain cautious.

“This romantic idea that there’s lakes of lithium to be tapped is just not the case,” one mining executive said.