Ukraine will auction three titanium ore deposits, PM says

Ukraine to Auction Three Major Titanium Ore Deposits After Permit Removal

Overview of Ukraine's Titanium Ore Auction and Strategic Mineral Policy

KYIV, March 10 (Reuters) - Ukraine will auction three titanium ore deposits after stripping a fugitive businessman of extraction rights, Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said on Tuesday.

Details of Permit Removal and Auction Plans

In a statement on social media, Svyrydenko said the rights to explore the Malyshevske field in Dnipropetrovsk region and the Valky-Hatskivske and Mezhyrichne sites in Zhytomyr region had been taken from businessman Dmytro Firtash, who has been sanctioned by Kyiv.

Next Steps for Businesses

"The next stage is to wait for initiatives from businesses to obtain the right to use these subsoil resources through open auctions," she said.

Government Measures for Auction Transparency

The prime minister said Ukraine's cabinet had allowed for the sites' permits to be auctioned electronically.

Review of Strategic Mineral Resource Permits

Svyrydenko also said Ukraine's state geological service was reviewing 38 other permits for strategic mineral resource exploration which it said were suspected of being "sleepers" - where holders do nothing with the permits.

International Cooperation and Investment

Ukraine-U.S. Mineral Resources Deal

Last year, Kyiv signed a mineral resources deal with Washington as it sought to keep President Donald Trump on side, giving the U.S. preferential access to new Ukrainian minerals projects in exchange for investment.

Investment Fund and Project Pipeline

A joint Ukrainian-U.S. investment fund formed as a result of that deal has identified over 20 potential projects, with the top eight being worth $1.2 billion, according to Kyiv's economy ministry.

(Reporting by Yuliia Dysa, writing by Max Hunder; Editing by Bernadette Baum, Alexandra Hudson)