The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has allocated 555 million hryvnias for the modernization of the Eastern Mining and Processing Plant, which will significantly increase uranium production. This support is part of a plan to create a vertically integrated holding in the energy sector.
The government’s decision to provide funding was announced by the First Deputy Prime Minister of Energy Denys Shmyhal. According to him, “Energoatom” will provide reversible financial assistance to SkhidGZK, calculated until the end of 2027. Investments will be directed towards the modernization of the enterprise to increase the extraction of uranium ore and the production of uranium oxide concentrate.
The strategic development plan of the enterprise includes the purchase of mining equipment, expansion of mine horizons, reconstruction of ventilation systems, as well as the construction of a new sulfuric acid installation with a capacity of 85 thousand tons per year. This should help increase the production of uranium concentrate to 45 tons per month.
In addition to modernization, a phased salary increase for the plant’s employees is planned from June 2026. According to Shmyhal, these measures, together with the corporatization of the enterprise, are aimed at pulling SkhidGZK out of a difficult financial situation and integrating it into a holding that will provide the entire technological cycle in nuclear energy.
SkhidGZK, located in Zhovti Vody, Dnipropetrovsk region, is the largest uranium mining enterprise in Europe and the only one in Ukraine that provides the extraction of natural uranium. It provides up to 40% of the uranium needs of Ukrainian nuclear power plants with the aim of achieving 100% self-sufficiency in nuclear raw materials.
Amid these changes, Energoatom continues to work on reducing dependence on Russian nuclear fuel by switching nuclear power plants to fuel from the American company Westinghouse Electric Company. Agreements were made last year to produce nuclear fuel in Ukraine using Westinghouse technology.
| Modernization Plan |
|---|
| Purchase of mining equipment |
| Expansion of mine horizons |
| Reconstruction of ventilation systems |
| Construction of sulfuric acid installation (85 thousand tons/year) |
