How to attract investment and unlock the potential of Ukraine’s subsoil: highlights from Mining Day 2026
On 3 September, the European Business Association held Mining Day, an industry event bringing together subsoil users, representatives of public authorities and experts to discuss current challenges and development prospects for Ukraine’s extractive sector.
Panel I. Presentation of the EBA Subsoil Use Committee’s Study on the Impact of Hostilities on Companies’ Operations. Necessary Incentives to Improve Investment Climate and Further Develop the Sector
During the first panel, participants discussed the findings of the Association’s study on the impact of hostilities on companies operating in the sector. The discussion focused on key regulatory barriers, incentives needed to attract investment and potential solutions to support sustainable development of the industry. 
Svitlana Mykhailovska, Deputy Director of the European Business Association, presented the findings of the EBA study “Subsoil Use in Wartime and Development Prospects”. The main conclusion was that the sector remains attractive for investment, although a number of regulatory issues require resolution, particularly those related to access to land plots, environmental impact assessment (EIA) procedures, the extension of special permits and coordination between public authorities.
Oleh Bondarenko, Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Environmental Policy and Nature Management, highlighted the constructive dialogue between Parliament and the business community. He noted that the issues raised by companies are already on the Committee’s agenda and are being addressed together with the relevant ministry.
Yehor Perelyhin, Deputy Minister of Economy and Environment, outlined the priorities of the American-Ukrainian Reconstruction Investment Fund. The Ministry is working to ensure that at least three projects receive funding by the end of the year. Key barriers include the quality of project preparation and the resources required to assess projects and develop individual proposals for each of them.
Dmytro Natalukha, Head of the State Property Fund of Ukraine, presented a list of assets in the extractive and processing sectors that are expected to be offered at auction in the near future. He noted that investor interest in Ukrainian assets is largely shaped by global geopolitical developments, while the Government’s priority is to attract local financing to projects.
Serhii Vlasenko, Acting Head of the State Service of Geology and Subsoil of Ukraine, confirmed the Service’s readiness to implement targeted reforms and called on businesses to provide more proposals on problematic issues. He also highlighted the development of digital services, including the Subsoil User Portal, as a tool for increasing transparency and openness in the sector.
Iryna Suprun, Chair of the European Business Association’s Subsoil Use Committee and CEO of Geological Investment Group, emphasised that the study provides a clear signal to the Government regarding the sector’s priority challenges. She stressed the importance of ensuring stable rules of the game and securing not only access to subsoil resources, but also to the land needed to implement investment projects.
Panel II. Subsoil Use in Ukraine in the Context of Contemporary Geopolitics: Resources, Investment and New Regulations
During the second panel, speakers discussed the role of energy resources in contemporary geopolitics, the potential of Ukraine’s subsoil resources, opportunities to attract investment, and new rules for the development of the sector.
Artem Petrenko, Executive Director of the Association of Gas Producers of Ukraine, noted that Ukraine is unique on the European continent in being able to meet its own needs through domestic gas production. Maintaining and increasing production is a strategic priority, and companies are demonstrating this in practice every day. Further development of the sector requires investment, advanced technologies and international best practices.
Yehor Perelyhin said that the American-Ukrainian Reconstruction Investment Fund focuses on five areas: infrastructure, energy, mining, high technology and the defence industry.
Illia Kuznietsov, Head of the Business Strategy Department at Ukrgasvydobuvannya, stressed that despite the full-scale war, the company’s strategic objective remains unchanged — to increase production and develop its resource base. At the same time, security risks have become an integral part of investment decisions alongside traditional economic indicators. The company continues to invest in new assets, unconventional resources and advanced technologies, including 3D seismic surveys, and sees significant potential for involving international partners in technologically complex and capital-intensive projects.
Nataliia Hrebeniuk, Executive Director of DTEK Oil&Gas, emphasised the need to attract investment into the sector, including through international agreements. This requires a transition to international standards for reserves assessment and the introduction of a transparent mechanism for attracting private capital to the geological exploration of unallocated subsoil areas under state supervision. She also proposed reviewing approaches to joint activity arrangements, including the applicable royalty rate, and introducing international contract models such as Farm-Out and Risk Service Contracts to accelerate investment.
Stepan Kozytskyi, Head of the group of companies “Zakhidnadraservis”, noted that since 2022 the group has increased production through investment in technology and equipment. With regard to the experience of implementing the production sharing agreement for the Uhniv oil and gas area, 483 km² of 3D seismic surveys have been completed over five years, two gas treatment facilities have been installed, and 14 wells have been drilled to depths of up to 2,000 metres, nine of which have been successful. Overall, 330 million cubic metres of gas have been produced at the Uhniv site.
Dmytro Kashchuk, Business Development Director at Geological Investment Group, explained the difference between international investors’ interest in Ukraine and their actual readiness to invest. He stressed that an investor needs more than a special permit or a geological hypothesis: they need a ready-made investment product with verified data, clear economics and secure rights to the resource.
Panel III. Subsoil Use Without Illusions: An Open Discussion of Complex Issues
The third panel focused on the most pressing issues facing subsoil users. Speakers not only highlighted the main obstacles in the sector, but also discussed potential solutions.
Yehor Perelyhin focused on war risk insurance. He noted that Ukraine’s insurance market currently has a very low level of capitalisation, which limits its ability to insure large long-term projects and makes access to international reinsurance markets essential. To expand insurance capacity and support broader de-risking, international reinsurance capital needs to be attracted. However, reinsurance remains extremely expensive, with prices exceeding 10%, while available capacity is severely limited. In this context, the state could provide a first-loss guarantee, covering the most expensive and challenging layer of risk and thereby encouraging greater market participation.
Rishad Aliyev, First Deputy CEO of UMCC Titanium and Head of Investor Relations at NEQSOL Holding, noted that despite numerous challenges, including those related to the war, NEQSOL continues to invest in Ukraine. The company made significant investments last year by acquiring UMCC Titanium, which is now operating and exporting its products. Following the acquisition, the investor has continued to invest in modernisation and expects government support in addressing further challenges. Rishad also highlighted the negative impact of export regulations on zircon and rutile concentrates, which have already resulted in approximately USD 35 million in lost foreign exchange earnings. He stressed the importance of balanced regulatory solutions that ensure appropriate export controls while allowing the company to operate sustainably and develop its exports.
Mykhailo Heichenko, General Director of UkrLithiumMining, stressed the need to automatically extend work programme deadlines and special permits not only for the duration of martial law, but also beyond its end. He noted that the same approach should apply to EIA procedures. He also highlighted the importance of creating production clusters to support further processing, so that the country does not remain limited to exporting ore or concentrates.
According to Yuliia Lushpiienko, Head of Legal at BGV Group, international partnerships are becoming more than a source of financing or technology for Ukrainian mining projects. They provide an opportunity to bring projects and businesses to a new level through international standards of corporate governance, ESG, technological solutions, financial planning and access to global markets. Cooperation with international financial institutions, technology partners and potential off-takers encourages companies to view projects from the perspective of future investors and customers, making them stronger and more competitive. In this sense, partnerships are not an additional element of a business strategy — they are the business strategy itself.
Dmytro Makarenko, Head of the StateGeoCadastre, highlighted the need for closer cooperation between the StateGeoCadastre and other public authorities, given the complexity of land legislation issues. He also announced the launch of a platform for engagement with businesses, which will collect problematic issues raised by business associations and facilitate joint efforts to address them.
Oleh Bondarenko agreed on the need for a new approach to updating environmental impact assessments for mining projects where planned activities were not launched due to the full-scale invasion. The Chair of the Committee noted that even the proposal to extend special permits and work programmes for two years after martial law, compared with the current three- and six-month periods, has both supporters and opponents in Parliament. Any changes to the automatic extension of special permits beyond the periods already established by law will therefore require an optimal solution agreed between business and the state.
Aliona Shulima, Chair of the Subsoil Use Committee at the Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Partner at Pragma Consulting Group, concluded that Mining Day 2026 provided a unique opportunity to bring together at least three business platforms representing the subsoil use sector — the European Business Association, the Association of Gas Producers of Ukraine and the Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The event demonstrated both the scale of the sector’s challenges and the business community’s readiness to work together on solutions.
The European Business Association thanks the moderators and speakers for their insights and engaging discussion. We also thank the event partners for their support: the Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Association of Gas Producers of Ukraine, Geological Investment Group, UkrLithiumMining, BGV, NEQSOL Holding, IDS Ukraine, Zakhidnadraservis, DTEK and Nadra.info.
