The National Geology and Subsoil Agency of Ukraine and the Investment Promotion Office of Ukraine estimate that approximately US$10 billion will be invested in the development of key and strategic minerals, especially lithium, titanium, uranium, nickel, cobalt, niobium and other minerals.
At the “Future Minerals” press conference held on Tuesday, the Director of the National Geology and Subsoil Service of Ukraine Roman Opimak and the Executive Director of the Ukrainian Investment Company Serhiy Tsivkach announced the above plan when introducing the investment potential of Ukraine.
At the press conference, 30 investment targets were proposed-regions with non-ferrous metals, rare earth metals and other minerals.
According to the speaker, the existing resources and prospects for future mineral development will enable Ukraine to develop new modern industries. At the same time, the National Bureau of Geology and Subsoil intends to attract investors to develop such minerals through public auctions. The Ukrainian Investment Company (ukraininvest) is committed to attracting foreign investment into the Ukrainian economy. It will include these areas in the “Ukrainian Investment Guide” and provide necessary support at all stages of attracting investors.
Opimac said in the introduction: “According to our estimates, their comprehensive development will attract more than 10 billion U.S. dollars of investment to Ukraine.”
The first category is represented by lithium deposit areas. Ukraine is one of the regions in Europe with the most proven reserves and estimated lithium resources. Lithium can be used to make batteries for mobile phones, computers and electric cars, as well as special glass and ceramics.
There are currently 2 proven deposits and 2 proven lithium mining areas, as well as some ores that have undergone lithium mineralization. There is no lithium mining in Ukraine. One website is licensed, only three websites can auction. In addition, there are two places where there is a judicial burden.
Titanium will also be auctioned. Ukraine is one of the world’s top ten countries with large proven reserves of titanium ore, and its titanium ore output accounts for more than 6% of the world’s total output. 27 deposits and more than 30 deposits of varying degrees of exploration have been recorded. Currently, only alluvial placer deposits are under development, accounting for about 10% of all exploration reserves. Plan to auction 7 plots of land.
Non-ferrous metals have large amounts of nickel, cobalt, chromium, copper, and molybdenum. Ukraine has a large number of non-ferrous metal deposits and imports large quantities of these metals to meet its own needs. The mineral deposits and ores that have been explored are complex in distribution, mainly concentrated in the Ukrainian shield. They are not mined at all, or are few in number. At the same time, the mining reserves are 215,000 tons of nickel, 8,800 tons of cobalt, 453,000 tons of chromium oxide, 312,000 tons of chromium oxide and 95,000 tons of copper.
The director of the National Bureau of Geology and Subsoil said: “We have provided 6 items, one of which will be auctioned on March 12, 2021.”
Rare earths and rare metals-tantalum, niobium, beryllium, zirconium, scandium-will also be auctioned. Rare and rare earth metals have been discovered in complex deposits and ores in the Ukrainian shield. Zirconium and scandium are concentrated in alluvial and primary deposits in large quantities, and they are not mined. There are 6 deposits of tantalum oxide (Ta2O5), niobium, and beryllium, 2 of which are currently being mined. One area is scheduled to be auctioned on February 15; a total of three areas will be auctioned.
Regarding gold deposits, 7 deposits have been recorded, 5 licenses have been issued, and mining work at the Muzifsk deposit is still in progress. One area was sold at the auction in December 2020, and the other three areas are planned to be auctioned.
New fossil fuel production areas will also be auctioned (one auction will be held on April 21, 2021, and the other two are in preparation). There are two uranium-bearing ore areas in the investment map, but the reserves are not stated.
Opimac said that these mineral mining projects will be implemented for at least five years because they are long-term projects: “These are capital-intensive projects with a long implementation cycle.”