MR Invest, a company 75% owned by UMGI (UMG Invest) — part of businessman Rinat Akhmetov’s group — has won an auction for a special subsoil use permit for the Irliava clay deposit in Zakarpattia region. The information was published on the Prozorro.Sale platform.
The auction took place on November 5, with MR Invest emerging as the winner, offering UAH 10 million for the license — just UAH 1,000 more than the second bidder, Imex Minerals.
The 10-year license covers geological exploration and subsequent clay extraction. The Irliava site is located in Uzhhorod district, between the cities of Mukachevo and Uzhhorod.
Preliminary estimates indicate that the deposit contains around 1.1 million cubic meters of clay — including light clay suitable for the production of facing and facade ceramics and porcelain tiles, as well as yellow-brown clay used in the manufacture of common bricks and coarse ceramics.
Akhmetov’s partner in the project will be the Zakarpattia-based company Terragres, owned by Valentyn Shevetovskyi, founder of the Golden Tile ceramic holding.
The project continues Akhmetov’s strategy to expand the group’s mineral resource base both in Ukraine and abroad. Earlier, in July 2024, the subsidiary UMG Kaolin acquired a kaolin mining license in Zhytomyr region, and in 2023, Akhmetov’s Vesco Group began clay extraction in northeastern Spain.
