US delegation inspects Ukraine’s first mining sites under mineral deal

Representatives of the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) have inspected Ukraine’s first potential investment sites: the Byrzuliv Mining and Processing Plant and the Likarivske titanium ore deposit in the Kirovohrad region. This was announced by Oleksiy Sobolev, Minister of Economy and board member of the US–Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund.

"We inspected Byrzulivskyi Mining and Processing Plant and the Likarivske deposit, which are promising sites being considered for the Fund’s project portfolio. They primarily produce titanium ore and plan to start mining zirconium ore in the future. The sites also contain hafnium, a rare metal," Sobolev wrote on Facebook.

The Byrzulivske and Likarivske fields are part of Andriy Brodsky’s Velta Holding portfolio.

On September 14, he wrote on Facebook that "Velta is opening up development prospects that have virtually never existed before."

• An intergovernmental agreement on the creation of the US-Ukraine Investment Fund for Reconstruction was signed at the end of April 2025. Ukraine will contribute mineral licenses to the fund, while the Americans will provide funding.
• The fund was launched on September 3, with the first meeting .