BGV team inks cooperation agreements with international companies during US visit

In early 2025, Gennadii Butkevych's BGV Group Management company entered into cooperation agreements with three international partners, particularly during a visit to the USA for Ukrainian Week 2025 in Washington. These documents outline preliminary agreements for future collaboration in the field of critical raw materials (CRM). The parties committed to further detailing the terms of cooperation and advancing the implementation of joint CRM initiatives.

For almost 10 years, the BGV Group Management investment group has been advancing projects focused on the extraction and processing of graphite and beryllium. Since 2015, Gennadii Butkevych's company has invested approximately $100 million in the mining sector, mainly focusing on developing greenfield projects within the critical raw materials (CRM) industry.

"The signing of these documents marked a significant step in forging international partnerships, paving the way for BGV to broaden its business presence in the global market. With attention from Ukraine and the world concentrated on the CRM industry, our company has long been cultivating expertise and executing specific projects in this sector.

In 2015, we started from scratch, realizing the importance and strategic nature of the direction for the future of the Ukrainian economy and global resource security. Over the years, much work has been done according to international standards, and significant funds have been invested. For instance, the company invested nearly $10 million just at the feasibility study stage as part of the graphite project. This initial investment enabled us to negotiate with potential partners and reach agreements on the future development of these projects," Gennadii Butkevych, founder and investor of BGV Group Management, noted.

Currently, the flagship project of the investment group is BGV Graphite, which is being developed at the Balakhivske deposit in the Kirovohrad region. By early 2025, the company successfully completed the preliminary feasibility study (PFS) and pilot technological tests for the final product. Since the end of 2024, Rozvytok Pobuzhzhia (BGV Group) has been working on basic engineering in collaboration with Finland's Metso to construct an enrichment plant. Additionally, design work is underway for the mining and enrichment complex, with construction set to begin in the first quarter of 2026.

In 2024, the company completed laboratory and semi-industrial tests for the additional purification of graphite to achieve a battery quality of 99.99% and the subsequent production of spherical graphite (SPG). This work was conducted in partnership with the German company ANZAPLAN. Tests of the resulting anode material in lithium-ion batteries confirmed its superior quality. The company plans to begin design work for the SPG production plant in 2025.

Another key focus for the company is the beryllium mining project, BGV Beryllium. In recent years, the company has carried out verification drilling and conducted chemical, mineralogical, and technological studies. Plans are in place to complete the preliminary feasibility study (PFS) according to international standards by 2025. The BGV team places a strong emphasis on exploring the potential for extracting valuable associated minerals, particularly zinc and rare earth elements.