The NADRA GROUP's activities encompassed not only the primary phases of oil and gas exploration, but also included the surveying of solid minerals and groundwater. These activities ranged from forecasting metallogenic studies and assessing the resource bases of territories, to large-scale mapping, prospecting, operational exploration, surveying wells, and maintaining them.
NADRA GROUP took part in geological and operational exploration of multiple mineral resource deposits in Ukraine, and was involved in researching and producing operations of these deposits. Specifically, it executed two independent projects for exploring and extracting mineral resources in the Vinnytsia region, which were Ivanivsky Spetskaryer OJSC and Zhezhelivskyy Kaolin LLC.
The Ivanivske garnet deposit has been utilized as a source of building materials since 1963 through quarrying operations. Initially established as a state-owned enterprise in the 1960s, it was later privatized during the early 1990s and eventually fell under the complete control of NADRA GROUP in 2001.
NADRA GROUP project involved the extraction of natural abrasive garnets rather than just gravel. To evaluate the quality of the field resources, the Center for Mineral Testing (Centre de Recherche Minerale) in Quebec, Canada conducted a survey beginning in 1997 to assess the ore beneficiation technology based on a representative sample. The results showed that the volume of garnet obtained through magnetic separation was 21.77% of the original raw materials. In 2000, Bohler Hochdrucktechnik GmbH in Austria tested the abrasive garnet from the Ivanivske deposit for use in waterjet cutting of stainless steel and aluminum, which are materials used in the production of Boeing aircraft parts. The quality of cutting was found to be comparable to that of BARTON-Garnet from the United States. NADRA GROUP developed design documentation and a business plan for producing garnet concentrate at the Ivanivske deposit, which included both granite and abrasive garnet.
Following the saturation of the global market with low-cost bulk garnets from the United States, India, and Australia, the prices for garnets worldwide declined. As a result, the extraction of garnets from crystalline rocks, including those in Ukraine, became unprofitable. Consequently, NADRA GROUP decided to withdraw from the project in March 2019 and sold its shares in Ivankivsky Spetskaryer OJSC.
Zhezhelivsky Kaolin LLC extracted, processed (by crushing), and sold kaolin, which is an inert substance that does not have any harmful effects on the environment. Due to its harmless nature, kaolin was extracted through open-pit mining operations.
NADRA GROUP's services covered a wide range of mineral resources both in Ukraine and abroad. The company's experts provided advice on evaluating gold mining prospects in Mongolia, Ghana, Mali, and Tanzania, while also executing kaolin exploration and production projects in Africa. To attract foreign investment in Ukraine's mineral sector, materials on the geological and economic evaluation of deposits and manifestations of lithium, copper, cobalt, titanium, gold ores, and rare earth metals were prepared and presented to potential investors. Additionally, a program was developed to study the granular phosphorite deposits in the Varska area of the Chernihiv region, and a hydraulic borehole mining technology was created to extract them.