Not a single rational investor invests in the development of lithium deposits in Ukraine until their resource base is assessed according to international standards. This opinion was expressed by the director of Geological Service Company GSC LLC Aleksey Falkovich during the discussion panel “New industrial policy of Ukraine: the prospect of mining and processing of lithium and other strategically important minerals” organized by the EnergoBusiness magazine.
“They (investors - ed.) do not understand the classification that we have. Only immigrants from the former Soviet Union, if they work abroad, understand what the categories are, where today the State Commission on Reserves accepts these reserves, "he said.
According to him, to date, none of the Ukrainian deposits have been evaluated according to international standards.
At the same time, according to Oleksiy Falkovich, Ukraine has the largest lithium deposit in Europe - Polokhivskoe. The Dobra lithium ore site is located next to it. There is also the Shevchenko field.
Falkovich believes that in order to attract foreign investors to their development, it is necessary to assess their reserves, for example, according to the Australian JORK system.
Also, the director of the Geological Service Company GSC drew attention to the fact that Ukrainian legislation requires the investor to start production 3 years after obtaining a license to develop the field, but this, according to him, is impossible, because to prepare the field for production you need at least 5 years.
Falkovich stressed that state building codes are outdated and need to be updated.
