Turkish investors are planning to begin developing one of Ukraine’s largest graphite deposits — the Burtynske deposit in the Khmelnytskyi region. Spes Ukraine LLC, backed by Turkish companies Onur Group and Özdoğu Sarp, intends to develop the Horodniavka section of the deposit by establishing an open-pit mine covering approximately 105 hectares. Planned production capacity could reach 1 million tonnes of graphite ore per year.
The plans were disclosed in a notification of proposed activities subject to an environmental impact assessment (EIA). The Horodniavka section is located approximately 1 km northeast of the village of Horodniavka in the Mykhlia community of the Khmelnytskyi region. Spes Ukraine holds a special permit for subsoil use at the site, valid until September 2042.
Mining is planned to be carried out using open-pit methods. Soft graphite-bearing ores will be extracted using excavators without blasting. Drilling and blasting operations are planned for semi-rock and hard rock formations. The maximum depth of the future open pit could reach 150 metres.
According to the project documentation, graphite ore reserves in the B+C1 categories exceed 113 million tonnes, with a further 16.6 million tonnes classified as C2. Graphite reserves in the B+C1 categories are estimated at 6.58 million tonnes. The Burtynske deposit is considered one of the largest graphite ore deposits not only in Ukraine but also in Europe, while graphite reserves at the Horodniavka section exceed 6 million tonnes.
As the open pit deepens, groundwater inflows are expected to increase. Drainage water is planned to be used for the company’s technological needs. At the same time, the project could affect air quality, water resources, soils, flora and fauna. Mitigation measures include removing and subsequently reusing the topsoil and vegetation layer during land reclamation, protecting the open pit from flooding, and restoring disturbed land after mining operations are completed.
The project is currently only at the initial stage of the environmental approval process and has not yet received authorization to begin mining. The company must prepare an environmental impact assessment report, which will be followed by public consultations. The commencement of works is prohibited until the required EIA conclusion and approval from the competent authority have been obtained.
Spes Ukraine LLC was registered in Lviv in 2010 and specializes in the mining of other non-ferrous metal ores. The company previously planned to extract gold and niobium at the Zhovti Vody area in Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region, but relinquished the relevant special permit in 2026. The decision was attributed to lower-than-expected gold grades in the ore, which reduced the project’s economic attractiveness.
The Turkish investors are now focusing on the graphite project in the Khmelnytskyi region. Its implementation could become one of Ukraine’s major new critical raw materials mining projects, particularly given the substantial reserves at the Horodniavka section and potential production capacity of up to 1 million tonnes of ore per year.
