Mining giant European Lithium sues government over deposit development: "Tender was tailored to specific company"

Author: Vasyl Melnyk

The company that offered to invest several times more in the lithium deposit than its competitor lost the tender. Now the Ukrainian government will have to answer in court.

A high-profile international business scandal is brewing in Ukraine. The results of the first tender to select a winner under the minerals agreement signed last year between Ukraine and the United States have been called into question. At the center of the conflict are a transnational investor company, the Cabinet of Ministers, and Volodymyr Ihnashchenko, an official from the Yanukovych era.

At the beginning of the year, the government approved the American company Dobra Lithium Holdings JV, LLC, as the winner of the tender for the development of metallic minerals at the Dobra lithium deposit (Kirovohrad region). However, another participant, European Lithium Ukraine LLC, whose founder is the mining giant European Lithium Limited, strongly disagreed with this decision. The company has already gone to court, seeking to have the tender results canceled and the participants’ bids reviewed.

BusinessCensor analyzed the details of the scandal, which could affect not only the investment climate but also the European integration process.

How the tender was held. Timeline

In April 2025, the governments of Ukraine and the United States signed an agreement in Washington to establish the United States-Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund. The Verkhovna Rada immediately ratified the document, and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed the relevant law. The agreements provide for attracting American investment in the extraction and deep processing of strategic minerals (lithium, titanium, uranium, and others) in exchange for economic and military assistance.

Prime Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko said that the first pilot project under the agreement could be a lithium site in the Kirovohrad region. Preparations for the tender rules began in the summer of last year. In September, the State Service of Geology and Subsoil of Ukraine announced the launch of a tender to conclude a production sharing agreement within the Dobra deposit.

The special permit will be granted to the winner for 50 years: it will receive the right to prospect, extract, and beneficiate (primary process) lithium, niobium, rubidium, tantalum, caesium, beryllium, tungsten, and gold.

Ukrainian and foreign companies were allowed to participate in the tender, with the exception of representatives of the Russian Federation, as well as countries that do not comply with recommendations on combating money laundering.

According to a resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers, the minimum investment required to carry out geological exploration work was to be at least $12 million, while the minimum investment required to organize the extraction and beneficiation (primary processing) of lithium-bearing minerals and other metallic minerals was to be at least $167 million.

Under the terms of the tender, all products produced at the site belong to the state until they are distributed between the state and the investor. Before full reimbursement of its costs, the investor was promised a maximum of 70% of the total volume of products produced.

Two companies took part in the first tender:

• Dobra Lithium Holdings JV, LLC (United States) — the amount of declared investment was $179 million;
• European Lithium Ukraine LLC (Ukraine) — the tender proposal amounted to more than $1.5 billion in investment.

The participants’ proposals were assessed by the Interagency Commission for the Organization of the Conclusion and Implementation of Production Sharing Agreements Regarding Mineral Sites (except for oil- and gas-bearing subsoil). The body included representatives of various ministries and agencies, as well as members of parliament.

In an official statement, Economy Minister Oleksii Sobolev, who co-chairs the commission, announced that Dobra Lithium Holdings JV, LLC’s proposal had proved to be better. This was despite the fact that the other participant had offered significantly larger investments. Sobolev explained it as follows:

"The decision was made based on an assessment of the proposals according to nine criteria, including investment commitments, environmental approaches, and the involvement of Ukrainian labor."

In a response to BusinessCensor’s inquiry, Ihor Lukianov, director of European Lithium Ukraine LLC, noted that the Cabinet of Ministers and the Interagency Commission had refused to disclose the content of Dobra Lithium Holdings JV, LLC’s proposals, citing the confidential nature of the tender bid.

"Although the content of the proposal was indeed confidential before the tender was completed, since disclosure of the participants’ proposals could have affected the results, after the tender was held, the public should know the terms of the participants’ proposals. For example, after an auction is completed in the Prozorro system, the proposals of all participants, including prices, uploaded documents, and signatures, are automatically disclosed and become publicly available," he explained.

European Lithium Ukraine analyzed information about the tender results, including public statements by senior Ukrainian officials at the time the results were announced.

"And we believe that our proposal is objectively better than that of Dobra Lithium Holdings JV, LLC," Lukianov said.

BusinessCensor sent a similar inquiry to TechMet Ltd., the main owner of Dobra Lithium Holdings JV, LLC, but the company declined to comment.

In addition, the editorial office contacted Economy Minister Oleksii Sobolev and his first deputy, Yevhen Perelyhin; First Deputy Prime Minister and Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal and his first deputy, Artem Nekrasov; and State Secretary of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine Kostiantyn Marievych, as members of the Interagency Commission on mineral sites, except for oil- and gas-bearing subsoil sites. The recipients of the inquiry also included First Deputy Finance Minister Roman Yermolychev, acting head of the State Service of Geology and Subsoil of Ukraine Serhii Vlasenko, acting head of the State Tax Service Lesia Karnaukh, and Deputy Justice Minister Liudmyla Kravchenko.

One of the key questions concerns the role of Volodymyr Ihnashchenko, an official from the time of fugitive President Yanukovych, who communicates with the Ukrainian government on behalf of Dobra Lithium Holdings, as well as the company’s ties to former head of the Office of the President Andriy Yermak. However, as of the publication of this article, no response had been received.

At the same time, it is worth noting that on January 26, the Ministry of Economy’s website published the criteria for selecting the tender winner. However, European Lithium Ukraine is convinced that this is not a transparent explanation of the winner’s advantage, but rather a justification for why another company won.

"The winner was announced before the official announcement of the tender results, and all journalists were saying that only Dobra Lithium could win, as its owners are linked to the circle of the U.S. president. The decision-making process and the announcement of the results were as closed and non-transparent as possible," Ihor Lukianov clarified.

The Cabinet of Ministers should brace itself

European Lithium Ukraine LLC filed two lawsuits against the Cabinet of Ministers with the Kyiv District Administrative Court. The first seeks to have Cabinet of Ministers Order No. 14 of January 12, 2026, which recognized Dobra Lithium Holdings JV, LLC as the winner, declared unlawful and canceled.

The plaintiff is also seeking, through the court, to oblige the Interagency Commission to additionally introduce a new assessment criterion (the tenth one for determining the winner): "The level of financial support for the proposed work program at the subsoil site."

In addition, European Lithium Ukraine LLC asks the court to oblige the Cabinet of Ministers to reconsider the Interagency Commission’s proposals for determining the winner of the tender. In essence, this would mean canceling the announced results.

The company’s second lawsuit essentially argues that Kyiv ignored the position of local authorities and that, in the plaintiff’s view, the inaction of the Cabinet of Ministers and, personally, of Minister Sobolev, who heads the Interagency Commission, should be recognized, and a representative of the Dobrovelychkivska Settlement Council (where the Dobra deposit is located) should be included in the commission.

The point is that the legislation regulating such production sharing agreements provides for the participation of local self-government bodies in the work of the Interagency Commission that deals with such agreements. Instead, according to Volodymyr Osiievskyi, head of the Dobrovelychkivska community, the local authorities were not only excluded from the commission, but part of the information was classified altogether.

"We requested to be included as community representatives at the commission’s meeting. But we were refused. The information is classified," the community head said helplessly.

Even the Kirovohrad Regional Military Administration has not been informed of the details of the minerals agreement regarding the Dobra site.

"Unfortunately, there is no representative. But I am confident that the dialogue is not over," said Yurii Mykolaienko, deputy head of the regional military administration.

On June 3, the Kyiv District Administrative Court decided to open proceedings in the administrative case. The preparatory hearing is scheduled for July 9, 2026.

There is also an interesting detail. By ruling No. 640/7500/21 of July 15, 2021, the Kyiv City District Administrative Court confirmed European Lithium Ukraine LLC’s rights to obtain a special permit for subsoil use and mineral extraction at the Dobra site.

"The Cabinet of Ministers, as the defendant, did not exercise its right to appeal, and the deadline for filing an appeal expired. Therefore, the ruling of the District Administrative Court is final and not subject to appeal. However, the State Service of Geology and Subsoil refused to comply with the court ruling. We twice notified the Cabinet of Ministers of our rights and proposed settling the situation: immediately after the court ruling and after the announcement of the tender for participation in the PSA (production sharing agreement). However, our appeals remained unanswered," the company told BusinessCensor.

What you need to know about the tender participants

The founder of European Lithium Ukraine LLC is European Lithium Limited. It is a mining company engaged in the exploration and development of lithium deposits. Currently, its business interests are focused on assets in Austria, Ukraine, Ireland, Australia, and a rare earth elements mining project in Greenland.

In turn, European Lithium owns a 44.982% stake in the American company Critical Metals, which, as of the end of January 2026, was valued at approximately $879.06 million.

Critical Metals Corp is a multinational group with mining assets and offices in the US and Australia. The market capitalization of the group's companies stands at $1.9 billion, and its shareholders include Australian and American institutional investors, including BlackRock Inc. The group is currently developing ten projects for the extraction of critical minerals in Europe, North America, Australia, and Africa.

According to the YouControl analytical system, until 2022, European Lithium Ukraine LLC was named Petro-Consulting LLC. In 2018-2019, Yehor Perelyhin served as the director of this firm. Since July 2025 and to this day, he has been working as the Deputy Minister of Economy, Environment, and Agriculture.

In the autumn of 2021, the then owner of Petro-Consulting LLC, Mykhailo Zhernov, claimed that the company was owned by Volodymyr Ihnashchenko, but now the latter represents the winning firm, Dobra Lithium Holdings JV, LLC. Additionally, Ihnashchenko's son, Taras, also worked at Petro-Consulting LLC at the same time as Yehor Perelyhin.

The authorities do not disclose the details of the signed agreement with Dobra Lithium Holdings JV, LLC. Instead, in mid-May, the specialized publication Nadra.Info published a report on a project presentation at the Dobra site, which was closed to the press.

Thus, according to the publication, in addition to officials from the Ministry of Economy, the event was attended by representatives of the State Service of Geology and Subsoil, the State Labor Service, the State Tax Service of Ukraine, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Energy, and the apparatus of the National Security and Defense Council.

Dobra Lithium Holdings JV was represented by the aforementioned Volodymyr Ihnashchenko, who, according to eyewitnesses, presented the "mineral" project. Of particular interest: the representative confirmed the previously stated investment volumes in the lithium project; he promises to conduct the geological study of the Dobra site within 2-2.5 years, and is considering the construction of enrichment facilities.

The persona of 67-year-old Ihnashchenko is widely known in government circles. In the 2000s, he worked as a deputy to the ministers of economy and environmental protection. During the presidency of Viktor Yanukovych (in 2010-2011), Volodymyr Ihnashchenko held the position of First Deputy Head of the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources when the ministry was headed by the odious Mykola Zlochevskyi. He later served as an advisor to another odious minister, Eduard Stavytskyi. As a reminder, in 2023, the High Anti-Corruption Court sentenced Zlochevskyi in absentia, finding him guilty of a corruption crime. Meanwhile, Eduard Stavytskyi has been tried in absentia for the last 10 years and was declared wanted.

According to media reports, the change of government and lustration following the Euromaidan did not shake Ihnashchenko's positions. He continued to hold posts in government structures.

According to the YouControl analytical system, in February 2020, Volodymyr Ihnashchenko registered as an individual entrepreneur with the main activity of consulting on commercial activities and management. And by July 2025, the ex-official-turned-consultant was received at President Zelenskyy's Office. At the head of state's meeting with representatives of member companies of the American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine, Ihnashchenko represented TechMet, one of the shareholders of the winning firm, Dobra Lithium Holdings JV, LLC. Even then, he assured that if victorious in the relevant tender, his company was ready not only to explore and extract lithium in Ukraine but also to build facilities for its enrichment.

A few words should also be said about another shareholder of Dobra Lithium, The Rock Holdings. Its ultimate beneficial owner is American businessman and philanthropist Ronald Lauder. Lauder’s involvement was mentioned by the now-former head of the Office of the President, Andrii Yermak, and Ukraine’s Minister of Economy, Environment and Agriculture, Oleksii Sobolev. Despite this, Ronald Lauder himself has never confirmed either his involvement in the project or his interest in Ukrainian minerals in general.

Minister of Economy Soboliev, co-chair of the Interdepartmental Commission that selected the tender winner, ultimately assured that the pilot tender to find an investor for the Dobra deposit was successful and "should contribute to the formation of transparency standards for future projects." However, against the backdrop of heightened attention from European partners to the transparency of the Ukrainian government's work, especially in light of a series of recent corruption scandals, such decisions and explanations may not satisfy potential investors.

On June 15, all European Union countries reached an agreement on opening the first cluster of negotiations on the accession of Ukraine and Moldova to the bloc. For his part, the Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine, Taras Kachka, stated that Ukraine expects the opening of all negotiation clusters regarding accession to the European Union as early as July.

Therefore, the attention of European officials will be maximally focused on the Ukrainian government. And high-profile lawsuits related to a historic subsoil agreement are hardly what Ukraine needs during this period.