US President Donald Trump announced that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky may visit the White House later this week to sign an economic agreement on Ukrainian rare metals.

"I hear he's coming on Friday (February 28). I certainly don't mind if he wants to," Trump said in the Oval Office, as quoted by the New York Post.

Washington and Kiev have agreed on a revised accord after the US dropped its demand to receive all revenues from the exploitation of rare earth metals in Ukraine, estimated to be worth up to $500 billion.

Ukraine is sitting on massive reserves of critical rare earth minerals that could total trillions of dollars. It holds about 5 percent of the world's total mineral resources, according to a 2024 World Economic Forum report.

Besides having one of the largest confirmed reserves of lithium, Ukraine boasts semiconductor-grade neon gas that is critical for chip production, beryllium, uranium, zirconium, apatite, iron ore and manganese. | BGNES