Opportunities in Critical Materials Research in Ukraine

The National Mineral Strategy of Ukraine until 2030 has been updated The new program is based on the best international experience, considering the current capabilities of Ukraine. Its goal fully complies with modern European principles of sustainable development - ensuring urgent needs in mineral resources with no environmental risk. In addition, one of the key requirements of the CRM Act is the development by member states of a national exploration program. Therefore, the existence of appropriate geological programs is a European trend. It is worth highlighting three key novelties of the updated program. The first novelty is that strategic definitions for the industry have been introduced. The Subsoil Code received definitions of “strategic minerals” and “critical minerals”, as well as the procedure for their definition and approval of lists of relevant raw materials deposits that will be provided for use through auctions or PSA bidding. According to a special methodology, the Ministry of Economy will select strategic and critical metallic ores or non-metallic minerals of national importance, and their list will be approved by the Government. The current list of minerals, which was determined by the decision of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, will be temporarily in effect. Operators of such raw materials deposits will be Ukrainian enterprises or foreign investors who are residents of OECD member states or other countries with which intergovernmental partnership agreements have been concluded. The updated program provides for the concentration of efforts on the search for strategic and critical minerals, and the carry out of work to increase their resources (35% of the budget). The rest of the program budget provides, mainly, for funding activities that are not inherent in private business - geological mapping of the country, monitoring the state of groundwater and the resource base, as well as the introduction of digital technologies for storing and using geodata. The necessary funds for implementing the program's tasks are UAH 258 million per year. The second novelty is that a permanent source of financing for the program has been determined. The source of financing for the program's measures is a special fund, the replenishment of which should be carried out by business entities by deducting a share of the royalties from extracted minerals and a share of the cost of licenses. Therefore, the next step should be to establish a clear procedure for the distribution of these funds in the Budget Code. The third novelty is the increased transparency of geological data. Information on deposits and occurrences of minerals containing critical and strategic minerals must be published in free online access. Such data must be evaluated according to the international classification of the UNFC. The adoption of the law is the key indicator of the implementation of the Ukraine Facility Janis Aizsalnieks

The European Union is experiencing a serious systemic industrial decline. According to Eurostat data, industrial production in the EU fell by 2.3% year-on-year in 2024. The capital goods sector was particularly hard hit, falling by 7.5% year-on-year. Since 2022, the overall decline has been around 6%. The current situation is extremely difficult: businesses are closing, production facilities are being relocated outside the EU, the steel and automotive industries are in deep crisis, high energy costs are driving up expenses, and green transformation projects are being postponed. A big article about common challenges, opportunities, and solutions for the EU and Ukraine https://lnkd.in/d-xb4RxP Without serious measures to protect European industry and strengthen its technological position, Europe risks losing key manufacturing competencies. To overcome deindustrialization, Ukraine and the EU can develop a set of joint measures. Despite large-scale deindustrialization, war, and dependence on European funds, Ukraine has competitive advantages that are useful to the European Union, given its geographical proximity and prospects for European integration. Here are Ukraine’s key opportunities for the EU: 1. Creation of joint production chains in critical industries. Ukraine has significant reserves of critical minerals (lithium, titanium, graphite, and rare earth elements), which can be used to create production chains ranging from the extraction and processing of critical materials to the manufacture of batteries, semiconductors, and green technologies. This will allow all parties to increase competitiveness and reduce dependence on external suppliers. 2. Source of cheap energy resources and green electricity. Ukraine has significant potential for developing renewable energy sources (bio, wind, solar energy) and can export electricity, helping to reduce the energy component of the cost price for European processing. 3. Participation in European value chains. Ukraine can fill the gaps in segments where the EU has a need or is withdrawing due to high costs, such as the production of semis, auto components, and the supply of raw materials for the green steel transformation (DR pellets, HBI), etc. 4. Relocation of production. As part of post-war reconstruction, Ukraine could become a hub for energy-intensive production by European companies, provided that energy infrastructure is developed and electricity tariffs remain stable. #Ukraine #EU #industry

Ukraine launches tender for the “Dobra” lithium deposit Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko has officially announced a 50-year PSA tender for the Dobra lithium site (Novoukrainskyi district, Kirovohrad region). This is one of Ukraine’s most promising hard-rock lithium assets, strategically vital for EV batteries and high-tech applications. 📍 Deposit profile: • Area: 1,706.9 ha, with two ore zones (Stankuvatska & Nadiya). • Beyond lithium: reserves of tantalum, niobium, rubidium, beryllium, tin, cesium, tungsten & gold. 📑 Tender terms: • 50-year PSA, $179m minimum investment. • Investor must fund exploration, extraction & processing. • Commitments: environmental standards, Ukrainian labor & suppliers, local community investment. 🤝 Strategic partnership: This is the first project under the U.S.–Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund, signaling strong American backing for Ukraine’s critical minerals sector. ⏱ Timeline: • Official notice: within 2 months. • Applications: 3-month submission window. • Winner: to be announced thereafter. 💡 Investor takeaway: “Dobra” is not just a mining opportunity — it is Ukraine’s entry point into global critical mineral supply chains under U.S. partnership and EU battery market demand. 🔗 Investing in Ukraine: NEWS — daily insights on business, investment & recovery #InvestInUkraine #Lithium #CriticalMinerals #USUkraine #Resilience #EnergyTransition

The Ukrainian Parliament has ratified the Minerals Agreement between Ukraine and the United States! I consider this to be the most positive development in our country's economy in recent years. Since 2019, I have consistently emphasized the strategic importance of our mineral resources. What can we offer to the world? 28 out of 34 critical minerals defined by the European Union! Ukraine has tremendous potential and we have much to offer, primarily to the EU and the United States. Ukraine is rich in various critical minerals: titanium, lithium, graphite, and uranium, which the President Volodymyr Zelenskyy mentioned. But we also have vast deposits of copper, nickel, cobalt, zirconium, hafnium, and scandium. I especially want to highlight gallium and germanium – strategic metals whose export restrictions by China nearly brought the entire US defense industry to its knees! And do you know who once ranked third in their production? Ukraine. Now – zero. Our deposits of critical minerals span the entire territory of Ukraine: titanium ores are found in Kirovohrad, Zhytomyr, and Dnipropetrovsk regions; graphite – in Kirovohrad and Khmelnytsky regions; lithium – in Kirovohrad and Donetsk regions; uranium deposits are concentrated in the Kirovohrad region; copper – in Rivne region and the Carpathian region; and rare earth elements – in the Azov region. This geography of deposits creates potential for balanced development of industrial clusters in different regions of Ukraine. A particular pride is the Velta Ukrainian Titanium Cluster – a vertically integrated project that could be developed with support from the Critical Minerals Agreement. This initiative focuses on extracting and processing ilmenite, zirconium oxide, metallic zircon, hafnium, and by-products like kaolin and sand – materials crucial for aerospace, defense, nuclear energy, and electronics industries. The Titanium Cluster will serve as a strategic hub securing critical material supply chains across Europe and North America, reducing Chinese market dominance while revitalizing Ukraine's industrial sector. Built on our Likarivske titanium deposit and the proven Byrzulivsky enrichment complex in Kirovohrad region, we have 13 years of operational expertise enabling immediate advancement. This agreement opens the path to reindustrialization, requiring policy changes including investor guarantees, international reserve standards, and war risk insurance. Velta already has a concrete action plan: stabilization of existing enterprises, construction of new facilities in Ukraine and the United States, and integration into global production chains. This is a historic milestone. We are moving from words to actions, from potential to implementation.