The State Service of Geology and Mineral Resources of Ukraine reported that in Transcarpathia, the estimated resource of the Rakhiv gold deposit. Geologists say that it's too early to rejoice. The data just confirm that there is gold in the area, but this does not mean that it will start producing in the near future. Where to dig? The predicted resource of precious metal in the Rakhiv region is 2.4 tons of gold. Geologists say that the field is small and is unlikely to be of interest to the investor. "2.4 tons of gold - about 77 thousand. ounces, the price of which is now about $ 1,350. The virtual value of this gold is about $ 100 million, "said Vladimir Mikhailov, director of the Institute of Geology of Kyiv National University. Shevchenko. In addition, not all of the declared 2,4 tons can be extracted. Yes, and in the organization of extraction, you need to invest more than potentially earn. All over the world, investors are attracted by medium and large deposits of 25 tons. Such deposits are in the Ukrainian Carpathians. The largest of them is in the. Muzhaevo of the Transcarpathian region. Its potential reserves are about 55 tons. Until 2006, the extraction of precious metal was conducted by the state company "Zakarpatpolymetalli". She managed to get about 700 kg of gold. Then it was replaced by the "Carpathian ore company". Now the American investor Avellana Gold is preparing to launch gold mining. Approximate amount of investment in the project - $ 100 million. "Reserves can be estimated at least hundreds of tons, but there is no guarantee that this metal will ever be able to be extracted while preserving its economic value," comments Dmitry Kashchuk, the acting director of the State Enterprise "Science". Розвідка. Vidobuvannya ". Gold mine Search for gold on the territory of Ukraine began in the 60s of the last century. But before the mining business in most cases did not reach. To run it, you need to fulfill several conditions. First, to conduct large-scale geological exploration work. For the past 15 years, they have been virtually non-existent due to a lack of state funding. The predicted resource of precious metal in the Rakhiv region is 2.4 tons of gold. The deposit is small and is unlikely to be of interest to the investor. "This is due to the policy of the state, which cut off allocations for such work for a long time. In recent years, this is a tenth of what is needed, "- explains Mikhailov. In order to translate prognostic resources into confirmed reserves, you first need to establish the value of the object. This may take several million dollars. But they should be singled out by the state. No investor will come to the site without explorations and approved reserves. Yes, and investments need to be attracted for a long period - at least 7 years. Few people are ready to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in a rather difficult industry, subject to constant corruption scandals. "Other countries have no less resource potential than Ukraine, and actively compete for investment capital at the state level. Because every new realized project is an average of $ 200 million - $ 1 billion of investment, "Kashchuk comments.. Not ready for Transcarpathia - not the only area where you can find promising gold deposits. At the Ukrainian Shield (Dnipropetrovsk, Odessa, Kirovograd, Poltava oblasts) there are at least 5 facilities where, under the condition of competent geological exploration, one can find large gold reserves. "In the late 90s, the issue of attracting Russian investors was raised, but they never came, because the information on the reserves are not confirmed," recalls Vladimir Mikhailov. According to him, in industrialized countries, in 90% of cases gold mining is conducted by private business. The state issues a license for the development of deposits with confirmed reserves and has from this proceeds to the budget. The rules of the game in the market are clear to the investor. "Among other things, we must have legislation that would exclude the possibility of deceiving the investor," adds Mikhailov, noting that such cases in Ukraine were. Not a single gold The state is not in a hurry to invest in exploration not only gold reserves, but also other metals that may be of interest to investors. Experts believe that in the next 5 years the focus of attention of those who want to risk mining, the Ukrainian Carpathians. "The deposits of Romania and Hungary give the economies of these countries hundreds of millions of dollars annually. Some of the ideas are related to the areas of the Ukrainian Shield, but it is not so clear for foreign geologists, "adds Dmitry Kashchuk. In the long term, the Ukrainian rare earth metals may be of interest to the European Union. About 17 elements belong to the group of these fossils, including scandium, yttrium, lanthanum and lanthanides. These metals are widely used in the chemical and metallurgical industries and in the production of ceramics. The state balance of mineral resources so far accounts for deposits of such metals only in two explored deposits - Novopoltavsky and Yastrubetsky. Olga Pryadko.

Original article: Expensive resource. Will Ukraine produce gold?.