Work is continuing at the ‘Kam’yanitske-2’ andesite deposit in the Zakarpattia Oblast without an environmental impact assessment having been finalised. Previously, ‘Forests of Ukraine’ had also allocated over 32 hectares of woodland to the miners. This caught the attention of the public prosecutor’s office, but the court dismissed the claim to halt mining operations.
The details of this case were reported by the media outlet ‘Suspilne’.
Court rules in favour of MP’s company
Mykhailo Laba, a member of the Transcarpathian Regional Council, holds a decisive influence and a 50 per cent stake in the mining company KobaltumResursExport LLC. This is evidenced by data from YouControl.
In their claim, the prosecutors argued that the company was extracting minerals without having undergone the environmental impact assessment procedure. This constitutes a direct breach of environmental legislation.
However, the judges referred solely to the actual project, which ‘CobaltumResourceExport’ Ltd was to follow. That project makes no mention of industrial mineral extraction. Consequently, an environmental impact assessment is not required for this, and the prosecution’s claims were therefore deemed unfounded.
"The court concluded that the claimant’s assertion that the defendant was carrying out planned economic activities without an environmental impact assessment was incorrect, as the defendant was not obliged to undergo an environmental impact assessment procedure in accordance with the type of subsoil use specified in the special permit," the court ruling states.
Another aspect concerns the transfer of woodland to the company under an easement in September 2024. The ‘Carpathian Forest Office’ branch of the state-owned enterprise ‘Forests of Ukraine’ transferred 32.5 hectares of woodland within the Kam’yanitsky Forest District to the mining companies. In this case, too, the court ruled that there were no grounds for upholding the claim.
Searches and statements
The investigation claims that mineral extraction was taking place on forest land without an environmental impact assessment. An inspection of the andesite extraction took place as early as 30 June.
At the same time, MP Laba stated that on 29 June, around fifty armed men wearing masks brought operations at the company ‘KobaltumResursExport’ Ltd to a halt.
The company’s co-owner gave assurances that investigative and operational measures had been carried out instead of searches. He also added that the company operates within the law and that no requests for documents had been received from the law enforcement agencies.
CobaltumResourceExport Ltd has acquired a special licence to exploit the ‘Kamianitske-2’ deposit for a period of 20 years for 75 million hryvnias. The special licence provides for geological exploration, including pilot-scale and commercial extraction of mineral resources, and their subsequent production.
However, after examining the tender documents, journalists discovered that an environmental impact assessment was in fact required, even for the preparation of the field for commercial development. This is evidenced by Annex 2 to the agreement on the terms of use.
Mykhailo Laba, a Transcarpathian MP, and three other individuals were charged with organising the illegal extraction of andesite on 17 August. On 19 August, the court imposed a pre-trial measure on Laba — detention in custody, subject to the payment of bail in excess of 1 million hryvnias.
As a reminder, construction of a wind farm has begun in the ‘Podilski Tovtry’ National Park without an environmental impact assessment.
Furthermore, a temporary crossing over the Latorica River was built in Zakarpattia without an environmental impact assessment. As a result, the spring ice drift posed a risk of flooding to the surrounding settlements.
