Ukraine is fundamentally revising its mineral sector, which has suffered from three years of war, in the hope of unlocking potential and attracting billions of dollars in investment from a mineral agreement with the United States, Minister of Ecology Svitlana Hrynchuk said in an interview with Reuters, UNN writes.
Details
The country has deposits of 22 of the 34 minerals that the EU considers critical for industries such as defense, high-tech equipment and green energy, as well as ferroalloys, precious and non-ferrous metals used in construction, and some rare earth elements.
However, most of the sector is underdeveloped, burdened by Soviet-era bureaucracy and a lack of investment, the publication writes.
After months of intense negotiations, Ukraine and the United States agreed in April on a mineral agreement actively promoted by US President Donald Trump.
Minister of Ecology Svitlana Hrynchuk told Reuters that Ukraine hopes the fund will significantly increase the potential of the mineral industry, noting that mining is a capital-intensive and long-term task.
"Currently, the share of our natural resources sector in gross domestic product is 4%, but the potential is much greater," she said on Monday evening, without giving forecasts.
"We really hope that the agreement will attract more attention to this sector and make foreign investment more understandable and attractive," the minister said.
"Against the backdrop of the ongoing war, "about half of the country's mineral wealth and a fifth of its territory are now under Russian occupation," the publication writes. Ukraine, the publication notes, "has lost most of its coal deposits, as well as some lithium and manganese deposits and other minerals."
Hrynchuk estimated that the sector suffered losses of about 70 trillion hryvnias ($1.7 trillion) due to the occupation of Ukrainian territory and hostilities along the front line of more than 1,000 km, the publication writes.
According to her, Ukraine updated its strategy in the resource sector at the end of last year and is now focused on improving access to information and data on geological exploration, reducing bureaucracy and finalizing lists of critical and strategic minerals that are crucial for the economy, the publication notes.
This work is also part of Ukraine's efforts to align with the EU, which Ukraine hopes to join in 2030, the publication writes.
Addendum
Ukraine earlier signed an agreement with the United States on the establishment of an investment fund for reconstruction, which is called the mineral agreement.
It was later ratified by the Verkhovna Rada.