Ukraine has transferred development rights for one of its largest lithium deposits-the Dobra site in the Kirovograd Region-to a group of U.S. investors, according to reporting by The New York Times.

The newspaper says the winning bidder for the state-owned deposit was an investor consortium that includes billionaire Ronald Lauder, heir to a major cosmetics fortune and a longtime associate of U. S. President Donald Trump dating back to their student years. The NYT notes that Lauder had previously floated the idea of purchasing what he described as resource-rich Greenland.

Another participant in the investment group is the energy company TechMet. The firm is partly owned by a U.S. government investment agency that was established during Trump’s first presidential term.

The deal follows a broader U.S.-Ukraine natural resources agreement signed on April 30. Under that framework, the United States receives priority rights to purchase commodities extracted on Ukrainian territory. The agreement also provides for the creation of an investment fund in Ukraine, with management responsibilities and financial contributions split evenly between the two sides on a 50–50 basis.

The arrangement envisions long-term investment in Ukraine’s development over a ten-year period. U.S. military assistance to Kiev will be counted as the American contribution to the fund, the newspaper reports.