More than 80 subsoil sites to be put up for auctions and tenders in Ukraine – list approved
Photo: Ministry of Environment

The Cabinet of Ministers has approved a list of critical and strategic minerals, as well as more than 80 subsoil areas to be put up for auctions and tenders to attract investors in mining. This was reported to by the press service of the Ministry of Environment.

These are 60 sites that will be transferred for use through electronic auctions, and another 26 through tenders under production sharing agreements (PSAs).

The government plans to attract investors to extract lithium, titanium, copper and other minerals important for the country's economy and defense.

This decision was part of the implementation of the law on updating the program for the development of the mineral resource base until 2030, as well as the requirements of the Ukraine Facility Plan and the US-Ukraine agreements on investment fund for reconstruction .

Read also
How Ukraine can turn critical minerals into an economic breakthrough (part two)

"This decision will allow us to effectively manage subsoil resources, attract investment in the extractive industry and create new opportunities for the development of Ukraine's economy in the long term," said Svitlana Hrynchuk, Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources.

The list of strategic minerals includes 11 types of raw materials: aluminum, beryllium, copper, nickel, niobium, strontium, tantalum, titanium, uranium, zirconium, and fluorite ores.

Critical minerals – an even wider list of 28 items – include aluminum, beryllium, copper, nickel, niobium, strontium, tantalum, titanium, uranium, zirconium, fluorite ores, vanadium, bismuth, tungsten gallium, hafnium, indium, rare earth, lithium, arsenic, copper, tin, lead, scandium, antimony, tellurium, cesium, zinc, potassium salt.

Opening access to subsoil through transparent tenders and bidding is expected to stimulate economic development, create new jobs, and strengthen Ukraine's energy and strategic independence.

  • At the end of June, it was reported that Ukraine had decided to remove the classification of geological information on subsoil.