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Ukraine has considerable natural resources, the most valuable are the land and mineral resources.
Land Resources
Experts believe the quarter of the world chernozems (black topsoil) are concentrated on the Ukrainian land, an unequaled amount.
Formed under steppe vegetation in climatic conditions that is the most soft and humid in contrast to the grasslands of Eurasia, the Ukrainian chernozem is deemed as having the best physical, chemical, agrochemical and mineralogical composition. In consideration of the qualitative make up of its soils and productivity of its lands, Ukraine is seen as the richest country in the world. In the structure of the soil cover of Ukraine, chernozem amounts to 60.4 million hectares. Farmlands occupy sixty-nine percent this area, of which 78 percent account for croplands.
Humus content makes up the most reliable criterion to assess soil quality. Research of the soil blanket showed that the average content of humus in tillage is 3.2 percent. Soils with the highest content of humus are concentrated in Kharkiv (4.9 %), Kirovohrad and Dnipropetrovsk (both 4.5 %) oblasts.
High bioproductive properties characterize the supply of land in Ukraine. Using the most favorable structure of land and correspondent level of agriculture the county is capable to feed from 300 to 350 million people.
The Constitution of Ukraine adopted in 1996 defines the land as the principle national wealth that is under the guardianship of the State.
Mineral Products
Ukraine is among the leading countries of the world in supply of mineral primary resources. Occupying only 0.4 percent of mainland, the country is in possession of 5 % of the world reserves of minerals centered in c. 9 thousand deposits valued at over 11 trillion US dollars. Some of the minerals secure Ukraine a leading place among the countries of the CIS, Europe and the world.
The Donets Basin, where the industrial coal production has been carried out since 1795, is the basic source of coal supply in Ukraine. Located in the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, it extends farther to the Rostov oblast of the Russian Federation. With the total area of around 60 thousand square kilometers, its coal deposits are estimated at 109 billion tons.
Oil and natural gas are concentrated at Dnipro-Donets (80 %) and the Black Sea Coast-Crimea oil-and-gas bearing regions. Promising future development are gas and oil deposits on the continental shelves of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. Demand of Ukraine is covered in oil by 10 to 15 percent, and in natural gas by 25 %, while deposits containing up to 3 billion tons of peat and oil shale have been discovered.
The iron-ores are deposited in the Kryvyi Rih (18.7 b. tons), Kremenchuh (4.5 b.), Bilozersk (2.5 b.) and Kerch (1.8 b.) iron-ore basins. The largest manganese-ore fields in the world are found in the Nikopol basin. Ukraine also has substantial fields of nickel, chromite, titanium, mercury (rated second in the world) and complex ores.
Ukraine is placed at the forefront in Europe and the world in the area of nonmetal minerals. Deposits of mineral wax and brimstone are the largest in the world, while that of graphite are the greatest on the European continent. Extraction of rock and potassium salts has been carried out in Ukraine from ancient times.
Also deposits of precious and semiprecious stones (beryl, amethyst, amber, jasper, rock crystal, morion, etc.) were discovered on the territory of the country, and within the recent years over 15 gold fields have been discovered.
The potential of the mineral primary resources of Ukraine is great serving as a basis for the further development of economy, in particular, of the metallurgic and chemical industries, production of ceramic and construction materials. |
