The Ukrainian minister announced that work is underway on a production-sharing agreement with Dobra Lithium, which will invest in geological research and lithium mining from its own funds. Ukraine has granted rights to develop the Dobra lithium deposit in the Kirovohrad Oblast in central Ukraine to Dobra Lithium Holdings under a production sharing agreement. The company's shareholders are Techmet and Rock Holdings – associated with US President Donald Trump and his administration.
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Lithium deposits. Ukrainian minister announces “a special type of agreement”
According to the authorities in Kiev, Ukraine has about 5 percent. global “resources of critical raw materials”. Its territory also contains one third of Europe's resources of lithium, a key ingredient for battery production.
“A production sharing agreement regarding the Dobra lithium deposit is being prepared. The winner of the competition for the development of the deposit is Dobra Lithium. It is a special type of agreement under which the investor conducts exploration and invests in extraction at his own expense, and the state grants the right to exploit the deposits and receives a part of the extracted production or income,” Sobolew told Deutsche Welle. He added that there is no agreement yet, but its draft will be agreed upon within the year.
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The agreement is to be concluded for a period not longer than 50 years. “The minimum requirement for submitting an application was the investor's obligation to allocate USD 12 million to conduct new geological research and an international audit of resources, as well as USD 167 million to organize extraction and enrichment if the industrial resources of the deposit were confirmed,” explained the minister, quoted by PAP.
