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Automatically translated version. May contain inaccuracies compared to the original.
LLC “Titan-apatite Group” and LLC “CFR Group” in court secured the cancellation of orders of the State Service of Geology and Subsoil of Ukraine based on audits conducted in March 2026 of the year in implementation of the Prime Minister Yulia Sviridenko’s instruction on auditing strategic and “idle” subsoil resources.
Reports NADRA.INFO citing newly released decisions of Kyiv Administrative Court from 02 November.
LLC “Titan-apatite Group”
The company uses the Yuryivske site (titanium ores, garnet apatite ilmenite, special permit ¹ 4998) in Zhytomyr region. The special permit was purchased at an online auction of the State Geonadras in 2019 of the year. The distance from the site to the border with the Republic of Belarus is about 9,6 km.
Among the violations recorded by inspectors were failure to meet deadlines for several points of the work program, as well as failure to provide documents and various materials related to the audit.
Before filing a lawsuit, LLC “Titan-apatite Group” submitted objections to the audit act and complaints about the order to the Geonadras.
In the company all accusations were rejected and they insisted that the work deadlines had not expired, citing the relevant norm of the Ukrainian Subsoil Code regarding automatic extension of terms. They also stated that works at the deposit were limited by objective circumstances: full-scale war of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, threats to personnel, proximity of the site to the Belarus border, prohibitions by the Zhytomyr Oblast Defense Council and notification by Zhytomyr OVA. A force majeure was confirmed by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry certificate. Moreover, the case materials show that the company was not inactive: it carried out stage-by-stage work feasible in wartime, adjusted the project, drilled and conducted research. Failure to complete the full set of works did not mean a refusal of the Program. The court document also mentions that documentation and materials were submitted to the Geonadras in the portion that could be prepared.
At the same time, in the list of deadlines in the ruling, none of the disputed stages of the Work Program fell before 24 February 2022 of the year, so the court rejected the Service’s arguments, took into account automatic extensions of deadlines and other circumstances, and found the order to be unlawful and canceled the order, as well as the corresponding clause in the addendum to the Geonadras order on extending the period to correct violations.
In the court document’s words: “...the violations noted in the Act were recorded by the defendant (Geonadras – Editor) ungroundedly and unlawfully, since the deadlines for completing the work according to the Work Program fall during the period of declared martial law in the country and during the state of war, which are automatically extended by law” (we advise reading the full text of the ruling, which has not yet become legally effective and may be appealed).
LLC “CFR Group”
At the companies’ disposal is the Yastriebetska site of zircon-rare-earth-fluorite ores (special permit ¹ 4999 also purchased from Geonadras auctions in 2019 year) in Zhytomyr region, at a distance of 11,4 km from the border with the Republic of Belarus.
The violations recorded by the audit are similar. And just like in the case of LLC “Titan-apatite Group,” among the disputed stages of the Work Program (mentioned in the court decision) we did not observe those whose deadline ended before 24 February 2022.
Similarly, CFR Group’s argumentation: the deadlines for disputed stages were automatically extended, use of the site prevented safety restrictions and force majeure, part of the works was completed, and providing documentation depended on the sequence of research and completion of stages; explanations and documents were transmitted to Geonadras.
Yes, CFR Group conducted works on its site: topographic works and hydrogeological studies were carried out, sample preparation and geochemical and mineralogical studies in the SGS Canada laboratory, the company worked on drafting a report for the preliminary geological-economic assessment (GEO-2), which is necessary to start design and carry out early works.
“Thus, the plaintiff, using the provision of part 6 article 15 of the Ukrainian Code on Subsoil regarding automatic extension of work execution terms, performs measures to implement the Work Program and reports to the defendant about their implementation,” the ruling states, which canceled the order and the corresponding clause in the Geonadras order on the deadline to remedy violations (we advise reading the full text of the ruling, which also has not yet become legally effective and may be appealed).
Context
The beneficiary owner of LLC “Titan-apatite Group” (YouControl) and LLC “CFR Group” (YouControl) is Hennadiy Buttkevych (founder of BGV Group Management, co-owner of ATB), minor shareholders – Hero of Ukraine Oleksandr Nastenko and Vitaliy Yakimenko (father of Pavlo Yakimenko, head of the Subcommittee on Protection and Rational Use of Subsoil Resources of the Environmental Policy and Natural Resources Committee of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine). Both companies are registered in Kyiv, led by Serhiy Troyan.
As of 2025 year, Buttkevich and partners controlled in Ukraine 13 subsoil plots, initiated tenders for signing production-sharing agreements at four uranium ore deposits.
The group’s flagship project at the Balakhivske graphite deposit (LLC “Development of Pobuzhzhia”) was included in the EU’s list of strategic initiatives.
The Geonadras order following spring audits was also challenged by Buttkevych’s LLC “Perzhanska Ore Company” (ruling).
In October 2026 year it became known that the American-Ukrainian Foundation for Reconstruction (URIF) approved the largest investment package to date for projects that align with shared economic and strategic interests of Ukraine and the United States. Specifically, it is planned to create a joint URIF and BGV Group Management investment platform to develop a portfolio of projects in the critical minerals sector in Ukraine. In the initial stage, the platform envisages investment of up to 30 million dollars in development programs for individual projects. The initial focus will be on assets related to rare earth elements, beryllium, and zirconium.
Document: PDF proof of the original version of the news item "Після перевірки стратегічних надр компанії Буткевича змогли оскаржити та скасувати приписи Держгеонадр". It records the publication content at the moment of the first scan, the preservation date and the source: Rozsliduvach.
