In Ukraine, 2 268 companies and 78 individuals have the right to use the subsoil. Among them are owners of 51 countries, and some enterprises are part of powerful corporate groups. YouControl analysts have explored who the Ukrainian subsoil owns, which companies control the production of strategically important resources and what role foreign owners play in this.
Who and how many permits?
3 482 current special permits for subsoil use were issued in Ukraine. Most companies have only one permission, but there are giants:
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JSC “Ukrgasvydobuvannya” - 213 permits,
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PJSC “Ukrnafta” - 89 permits.
Among private companies, the largest assets are concentrated in the hands of influential business groups:
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“SCM” Rinat Akhmetov - 39 permits,
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“Smart Holding” Vadim Novinsky-17,
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“Westernadraservice” - 13,
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“Eastvan” - 12,
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"ATB" Gennady Butkevich - 11.
Foreign capital in extraction
351 Company with special permits, partially or fully owned by foreigners. The most owners with:
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Cyprus - 137 companies,
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The Netherlands - 34,
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Switzerland - 24,
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UK - 23,
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Germany - 21,
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USA - 14.
This shows that much of Ukrainian natural resources are controlled by international business.
The extraction of critical minerals
16 of the 50 critical fossils of Ukraine produce 39 companies. Of them:
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10 are state (in particular, have licenses to germanium),
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22 companies are included in large business groups that control strategic resources.
For example:
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ATB group - access to graphite, zinc, beryllium, titanium and zirconium,
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Dmitry Firtash's “DF group” - Titan, Vanady, Scandius, Zirconium,
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"UkrDoninvest" Vitaliy Kropacheva - Hermanium,
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"Velta" Andrei Brodsky - Titan and Zirconium Ores,
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“Ukrlitium production” by Sergei Tabalov is the only license to lithium,
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"List Ukraine" from the Turkish group "Onur" - graphite and niobium,
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"Manganese GOK" and "Pokrovsky GOK" (group of Kolomoisky-Pinchuk)-manganese ore.
Is there a future for international partnership?
Ukraine has received from the United States an updated version of the minerals, which is currently being checked by lawyers. At the same time, according to People's Deputy Danylo Getmantsev, almost all commercially advantageous deposits are already "painted" between large business groups, so to offer new partners nothing.
