Ukrainian critical minerals for British technologies: BGV presented Ukraine's mining potential in London
London
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April 03, 2024 02:54 AM Eastern Daylight Time
On March 26, one of the largest investment companies in Ukraine - BGV Group Management presented at the highest level in London opportunities for cooperation with Ukraine in the field of mining. BGV’s founder, Gennadii Butkevych, as well as its management team were invited to join British parliamentarians, members of the House of Lords and state ministers to participate in an official event on investment in Ukraine, which took place in the Houses of Parliament. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss British-Ukrainian partnership in the field of critical minerals mining, which will help the United Kingdom to develop advanced technologies and promote the transition to clean energy.
The event was attended by Lord Martin Callanan - Under Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Green Investment at the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, and Bob Seely MP. Representatives of Ukrainian business were also present.
In its speech, the BGV team noted three main areas of development in the British-Ukrainian bilateral partnership:
- FAMILIARIZATION WITH THE MINING POTENTIAL OF UKRAINE
Ukraine has all the prerequisites to become one of Britain’s main suppliers of critical minerals crucial for advanced technologies and the green energy transition. 117+ types of minerals have been discovered across Ukraine’s rich subsoil. In particular, the country has reserves of 22 out of 30 raw materials resources that have been identified as critical by the EU. Ukrainian lands have significant deposits of beryllium, zirconium, titanium, rare earths and others, and graphite reserves in Ukraine are among the largest in the world. Many Ukrainian deposits are located on Europe’s doorstep, which provides profitable logistics with low transport costs.
- INSURANCE OF RISKS
War risks insurance is currently an extremely necessary tool for protecting foreign investments in Ukraine. In 2023, Britain set an example to the whole world by unlocking insurance coverage for exporters of Ukrainian grain through the Ukrainian Black Sea corridor. Private British investments in the Ukrainian economy, in particular in raw materials projects, also need a similar effective insurance mechanism. The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) has already started to provide war risks insurance guarantees in Ukraine from the Trust Fund for the Support of the Reconstruction and Economy of Ukraine. Opportunities for trade insurance in Ukraine and investments in local projects are also provided by America (USDFC and USAID), Japan (NEXI), Poland (Kuke), Germany (administered by PricewaterhouseCoopers) and others.
- INVESTMENTS IN MINING
The BGV team called on British business to increase investment activity within the mining industry in Ukraine. During his speech in the Houses of Parliament, Serhii Voitsekhovskyi emphasized that BGV is ready to become a reliable partner of British investors and companies in the field of critical minerals. BGV Group and Gennadii Butkevych as its founder have already invested more than 100 million dollars in Ukrainian mining projects in 8 years to help Ukraine emerge as a leader in global critical minerals. In particular, two main mining projects of BGV Group Management were presented at the event.
- THE BALAKHIV PROJECT, the BGV team has currently completed all laboratory and pilot tests of graphite, which is widely used in battery production, identified the enrichment technology and is designing a production complex. In 2025, the company plans to start construction of one of the largest graphite production complexes in Europe, the potential capacity of which will be 50 thousand tons of high-quality graphite concentrate per year, of which 19 thousand tons are suitable for the production of spherical graphite. This, the company’s experts note, will cover a significant part of the EU market needs.
- PERZHANSK COMPLEX BERYLLIUM DEPOSIT, Serhii Voitsekhovskyi also presented to the participants of the meeting details of BGV’s hydrometallurgical tests and assessment of reserves according to international standards. Next year, in 2025, the BGV team plans to complete work on the preliminary feasibility study (PFS) for the search of potential strategic investors for the project.
In conclusion, the representatives of Gennadii Butkevych's BGV investment group emphasized that cooperation with Ukraine in the field of critical minerals can provide Britain with a powerful raw material base for the development of a number of technologies and innovations in medicine, the automotive industry, computer technologies, lasers, navigation, telecommunications devices, the aerospace industry and many others. What is no less important: it will also help to avoid raw material dependence of European countries on Chinese critical minerals.
The event was organized by CEO Club and Bob Seely MP.
Contact Details
BGV Group Management
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