Ukraine’s interagency commission on production-sharing agreements (PSAs) is reviewing a request to launch competitive tenders for uranium development at four deposits in Mykolaiv and Kirovohrad oblasts, according to Nadra.Info.
The initiative was submitted by Atomic Energy Systems of Ukraine LLC (AESU), part of businessman Hennadii Butkevych’s BGV Group Management. Butkevych is also a co-owner of the ATB retail chain. AESU is seeking to initiate PSA tenders for the Safonivska site, the Sadova area, the Severynske deposit and the Pidhaitsivske deposit.
The application was formally submitted in late November 2025 and considered at a commission meeting on Dec. 15, 2025, the same day authorities opened applications for a PSA tender for the Dobra lithium deposit. However, as of January, no final decision had been taken.
“But so far, they’re saying nothing. The ball is in their court, and it has been for a long time,” Butkevych said, commenting on the delay. He attributed the slow progress to a degree of state caution toward private-sector initiatives in uranium mining.
The four subsoil plots are included on Ukraine’s list of strategically important deposits to be developed through competitive PSA mechanisms. The Pidhaitsivske and Severynske deposits are located in Kirovohrad Oblast’s Kropyvnytskyi district, while the Sadova area and Safonivska site are situated in Mykolaiv Oblast.
BGV Group Management plans to develop the projects in partnership with foreign investors, although potential partners have not yet been disclosed. Butkevych has stated that, once permits are granted, uranium production could begin within 1.5 to 2 years.
The review comes amid broader activity in Ukraine’s strategic minerals sector. On Jan. 12, the Cabinet of Ministers selected Dobra Lithium Holdings JV, LLC — backed by TechMet and The Rock Holdings — as the winner of the PSA tender for the Dobra lithium deposit in Kirovohrad Oblast.
According to Butkevych, uranium development has also been discussed at the highest political level, including with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
