Deputy Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine, Yehor Perelyhin, Spoke at the II Investment Forum Organized by the Ukrainian Bar Association and outlined the strategic directions for the development of the extractive industry and the challenges faced by the state and investors in Ukraine. In his speech, the Deputy Minister emphasized the key aspects that determine the investment attractiveness of Ukraine's subsoil: the prospects of certain critical minerals, particularly titanium, the state of geological exploration, and the need to strengthen environmental management in mining.
"Titanium is one of our strongest resources. We are the number one country in Europe in terms of titanium reserves, and we potentially have a very strong foundation to be considered among the global top five in the future. We already have a rich resource base, a history of mining and processing, and institutional capacity to implement complex projects. The task for the coming years is to intensify geological exploration, systematize archival data, and attract investment in processing," Yehor Perelyhin stressed. "Ukraine's titanium deposits have several advantages: they are suitable for open-pit mining, have a clear production economy, and offer relatively high raw material quality (ilmenite, rutile). For example, we see that the United States is returning to the formation of a strategic reserve of titanium sponge and has been importing record volumes — around 40,000 tons annually — for the second year in a row. This signals the revival of sectors such as aerospace, medical technologies, and defense industries. Ukraine has a promising resource base, and we can build new processing operations upon it to deploy a full value chain. This is a great opportunity for us to integrate more deeply with American industry and secure our place in the supply chains of our strategic partners. The bilateral agreement between Ukraine and the U.S. is also a powerful tool in this regard."
The Deputy Minister emphasized the need for digitizing archival geological data and updating methodologies. "The main body of geological information in Ukraine was compiled during the Soviet era. Some data has been lost, core samples are often missing, and much of the information is unsystematized. Our task is to align this data with the expectations of Western partners and stimulate a new wave of geological exploration, which could lay the foundation for future mining and processing projects."
In the context of environmental risks, Yehor Perelyhin highlighted the importance of land reclamation and adherence to modern waste management standards: "Mining and processing always have environmental impacts. The key is effective oversight, transparency of operational programs, and modern management standards. Ukraine must implement the best international practices and stimulate proper funding for research into environmentally safe processing methods. For example, when the U.S. reactivated the Mountain Pass deposit, they specifically chose the dry stacking method for tailings storage to minimize potential risks".
In many Western countries, various protocols and standards for tailings management are gaining popularity. "To reduce environmental impact, it is essential to invest in scientific research and attract operators to tailings reprocessing projects to extract useful components that may not have been considered relevant or critical twenty or thirty years ago. The extraction of accompanying critical minerals and rare metals could improve the economics of current mining projects and encourage more efficient waste management across the entire industry. It is necessary to systematize and analyze all available information on existing tailings storage facilities and other mining waste accumulation sites. This could open new opportunities for specialized high-value industrial sectors with strategic importance,” he concluded.