According to the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine on Approval of the Regulations on State Commission of Ukraine on Mineral Resources No. 1689 dated 10 November 2000, primary objectives of the State Commission of Ukraine on Mineral Resources are:
- to set conditions for mineral raw materials for the calculation of mineral reserves in the subsoil;
- to make decisions on the mineral quantity, quality and degree of knowledge for explored mineral deposits and their readiness for commercial development.
Pursuing the assigned objectives, the State Commission of Ukraine on Mineral Resources:
- conducts the state expert appraisal of technical and economic calculations that justify conditions for mineral raw materials, verifies compliance of submitted drafts of conditions with the requirements of the most complete, cost-efficient and integrated use of mineral reserves, sets conditions for mineral raw materials for the calculation of mineral reserves of each deposit;
- sets oil, gas and condensate recovery factors based on the conclusions of expert appraisal, research and analysis of geological materials submitted by subsoil users considering their technological and feasibility study;
- approves conditions for the calculation of mineral reserves with medicinal properties based on balneological conclusions and conclusions of the expert appraisal of geological and feasibility studies’ materials;
- conducts expert appraisal of geological information on mineral reserves calculation and approves their volumes determining their quantity, quality, commercial significance, degree of geological and feasibility study, and readiness for commercial development following the Classification of Mineral Reserves and Resources of the State Subsoil Fund;
- verifies feasibility studies on the distribution of reserves at previously explored mineral deposits between areas transferred for use and approves mineral reserves at such sites;
- issues recommendations on setting quotas for mineral extraction, ensuring the most complete extraction of mineral raw materials, ensuring the extraction of approved mineral raw material reserves within deposits and areas interconnected hydrodynamically or otherwise, ensuring economically or technologically justified production proportions of mineral types and varieties, prevention of adverse social and environmental consequences of intensive mining;
- organises state expert appraisal of geological information on useful properties of subsoil areas explored for the construction and operation of underground structures not related to mining, sets conditions for the assessment of their quality indicators and provides conclusions on the possibility of use according to the determined directions;
- participates in the comprehensive state expert appraisal of projects for the commercial deposit development, reconstruction of existing mining and processing complexes, and their liquidation; verifies the justification, efficiency and quality of project decisions of mining companies on the completeness of use of explored mineral reserves;
- prepares conclusions on expediency of designing the development and engineering of deposits based on preliminary estimated mineral reserves and their pilot development;
- determines whether oil and gas fields belong to the group of non-commercial and depleted deposits;
- conducts a preliminary review of prospecting and exploration materials on mineral deposits at any stage of their study in order to provide methodological assistance to contractors; determines the degree of confidence of identified mineral reserves, commercial significance of deposits, the expediency of further geological exploration;
- re-evaluates mineral reserves that have changed in the course of additional geological exploration, deposit operation, establishment of new conditions or for other reasons; prepares conclusions on the expediency of writing off mineral reserves from the state balance, their qualitative and quantitative re-evaluation;
- based on submitted materials containing geological and economic assessment of mineral reserves, determines the quality and reliability of performed geological exploration, studies on qualitative and quantitative indicators of mineral raw materials, hydrogeological, engineering-geological, technological, environmental and other special studies, prepares conclusions on the degree of Terms of Reference (geological task) fulfilment for the exploration of mineral reserves, as well as recommendations on the elimination of deficiencies, including additional geological exploration;
- analyses and summarises the results of expert appraisal of geological and economic assessment of various mineral raw materials and, based on them, provides recommendations on the improvement of quality and reliability of geological exploration and time reduction for the exploration of mineral deposits, geological exploration for deposit exploration and operation data comparison resulting in the establishment of adjustment coefficients for calculation parameters and quantities of explored reserves, preparation of thematic plans for scientific research works on improvement of geological exploration methods and techniques, calculation of mineral reserves, completion of technological and analytical studies of mineral raw materials, study of mining-geological, hydrogeological and environmental conditions of mineral deposit development, conduction of geological and economic assessment of their commercial significance;
- develops and submits for approval the Classification of Mineral Reserves and Resources of the State Subsoil Fund according to the established procedure;
- develops, duly approves and submits for the state registration the regulatory legal acts that regulate the application of the Classification of Mineral Reserves and Resources of the State Subsoil Fund to certain deposits or groups of related minerals, and other regulatory legal acts establishing the content, form and submission procedure for the submission of materials containing geological and economic assessment of mineral reserves for state expert appraisal; determines the procedure for the development of conditions for mineral raw materials;
- analyses the State Fund of Mineral Deposits and its inventory;
- approves regulatory documents on geological exploration stages, methods of mineral reserves exploration and calculation, methods of justification and calculation of mineral raw material conditions;
- prepares materials received from industry commissions for consideration by the Interdepartmental Commission on Affairs of Mineral Deposit Discoverers, and submits its conclusions and proposals for approval according to the established procedure;
- collects and analytically summarises materials on the economics of mineral raw materials and geological and economic assessment of mineral deposits, conditions for mineral raw materials on the domestic and global market;
- maintains scientific and technical cooperation with the relevant authorities in other countries in matters within the competence of the Commission;
- pursues a unified scientific and technical policy on geological and economic assessment, state accounting and completeness of use of mineral reserves and other useful properties of the subsoil;
- performs other functions arising from assigned objectives.