About 20 thousand mineral deposits have been explored in Ukraine, but only about 3.5 thousand of them are being actively developed. This indicator indicates the significant, but still unrealized, potential of the country in the field of subsoil use. A new impetus to the industry may be given by the signing of an investment agreement with the United States, which provides for the creation of a special fund for the development of geological exploration and the extractive industry.

According to Pavlo Zagorodniuk, Candidate of Geological and Mineralogical Sciences, President of the NGO “Union of Geologists of Ukraine”, most of the deposits were discovered back in Soviet times. After the collapse of the USSR and the privatization of state property, their development was partially transferred to private companies. However, new geological exploration work is almost not being carried out, which is due to both a lack of funding and structural problems in the industry.

One of the main obstacles to the development of subsoil use is the presence of a large number of so-called “dormant” licenses. These are cases when no activity is conducted on explored or potentially resource-rich areas. This discourages the attraction of new investors and slows down the development of the regions where these deposits are located.

Zagorodniuk notes that the mining industry is capital-intensive and technologically complex. The development of deposits requires significant investments, long-term work and often does not guarantee quick profits. In addition, the projects are accompanied by social and environmental challenges, which further complicates the situation.

Currently, only one state-owned company — JSC “Ukrgazvydobuvannya”, which is part of the structure of NJSC “Naftogaz of Ukraine” — continues to actively engage in geological research. At the same time, the signing of an agreement with the United States, according to Zagorodniuk, may be the first real step towards attracting foreign investment in the industry.

The specialist also emphasized that the arrival of American investors and the use of the latest technologies have a chance to become the driver of the revival of the geological industry in Ukraine. This could also help return some of the highly skilled Ukrainian specialists currently abroad due to migration and create new jobs in the domestic extractive sector.