Our Mining sector team is part of the Energy and Natural Resources service line, comprising more than 40 lawyers located at Kinstellar’s offices throughout Central and Eastern Europe, Southeast Europe and Central Asia.

Mining is a key strategic industry with significant investment and development potential in Ukraine. Regulatory reforms, market liberalisation, and the expansion of mining infrastructure is set to drive considerable opportunities for both domestic and international stakeholders.

We provide comprehensive legal support to domestic and international natural resource and mining industry companies that invest in, explore, mine, process and sell minerals – from exploration to commercial production.

We regularly advise on the structuring and negotiation of mining joint ventures, option and joint operating agreements, subsurface use contracts, land lease arrangements, EPC and EPCM contracts, power supply agreements, sales and offtake agreements, and other key commercial contracts. Our key publishable clients include Arcelormittal Kryvyi Rih PJSC, Black Iron, Coal Energy, Metinvest and Recycling Solutions.

The mining industry is a key sector for the Ukrainian economy – which, even amid a full-scale war, continues to provide foreign exchange earnings, exports, employment, and investment.

Ukraine is one of the world’s leading producers of iron ore, and experts predict that an expansion of mining and processing capacities could generate significant added value. Ukraine also possesses substantial titanium reserves, with strong potential for use in the aerospace, and the chemical and medical industries. Furthermore, deposits of nickel and cobalt offer a solid foundation for battery production — an essential component for electric vehicles and high-tech applications. Gold-bearing deposits remain attractive due to consistently strong global demand.

Driven by global trends in electric mobility, renewable energy, and advanced technologies, demand for critical minerals and rare earth elements continues to rise, presenting new opportunities for investment and sectoral growth. Possessing 117 of the top 120 industrially used mineral types, Ukraine is well positioned to become a key supplier in this field. This mineral wealth can support the development of high-tech manufacturing and accelerate Ukraine’s integration into global value chains.

Daniel Bilak is a Partner at Kinstellar’s Kyiv office.

A Canadian-qualified lawyer with over 30 years of professional public and private sector experience in Ukraine, Daniel practices in the mining, energy, defence and technology sectors, with emphasis on governmental and regulatory matters.

His private sector experience in the mining sector includes advising on a titanium mine privatisation and the establishment of an iron ore mine in Ukraine. He possesses a unique understanding of Ukraine’s machinery of government and the operations of state-owned enterprises.

Prior to joining Kinstellar, Daniel served as Chief Investment Advisor to the Prime Minister of Ukraine (2016 – 2019) and headed UkraineInvest, the Ukrainian government’s foreign investment promotion agency.