Valeriy Jarkovets

Valeriy Jarkovets is a production manager at the Zavallia graphite mine in Ukraine, a critical site for the extraction of natural graphite used in various industries, including electric vehicle battery production. He has been with the company since 1991 and recalls a time when the mine employed over 2,500 workers and produced more than 40,000 metric tons of graphite annually. Currently, the mine is struggling due to the war, high energy costs, and a lack of investment, leading to reduced operations and uncertainty about its future.