8. Ukraine and its place in the world

Ukraine is the second largest country in Eastern Europe.

Ukraine has a major ferrous metal industry, producing cast iron, steel and pipes. As of 2005, Ukraine was the world's eighth largest steel producer. Another important branch is the country's chemical industry which includes the production of coke, mineral fertilizers and sulfuric acid. Manufactured goods include metallurgical equipment, diesel locomotives, tractors, and automobiles. The country possesses a massive high-tech industrial base, including much of the former USSR's electronics, arms industry and space program.

Ukraine is a major producer of grain, sugar, meat and milk products.

The country imports most energy supplies, especially oil and natural gas, and to a large extent depends on Russia as its energy supplier. While 25 percent of the natural gas in Ukraine comes from internal sources, about 35 percent comes from Russia and the remaining 40 percent from Central Asia through transit routes that Russia controls. At the same time, 85 percent of the Russian gas is delivered to Western Europe through Ukraine.

Ukraine produces nearly all types of transportation vehicles and spacecraft. Antonov airplanes and KrAZ trucks are exported to many countries. The majority of Ukrainian exports are marketed to the European Union. Since independence, Ukraine has maintained its own space agency, the National Space Agency of Ukraine (NSAU). Ukraine became an active participant in scientific space exploration and remote sensing missions.

Ukraine occupies 8th place in the world by the number of tourists visiting, according to the World Tourism Organisation rankings.^[121]

Ukraine is a member of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and joined the World Trade Organization (WTO) in May 2008. In 2008 Ukraine and the European Union launched negotiations on a free trade agreement. During the 12th EU-Ukraine Summit, held in Paris in September 2008, the EU presented Ukraine with an enhanced association agreement, including chapters on both political and trade relations. Some chapters, including trade, remain under negotiation.

4 Kriviy rih - the center of ore mining

3. Kriviy rih - one of ukraine s greatest industrials centers

Kryvyi Rih is a city in central Ukraine. It is situated in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, to the southwest of the oblast's administrative center, Dnipropetrovsk, at the confluence of the Inhulets and Saksahan rivers. The estimated population was 690,622 as of 2007. Kryvyi Rih city extends for 130 km, paralleling the ore deposits and is considered to be the longest city in Europe.

Kryvyi Rih is arguably the main steel industry city of Eastern Europe, being a large globally-important metallurgical center in the Kryvbas iron mining region.

In the Kriviy Rih area iron ore was historically extracted at 10 quarries and 23 mines, most of which have recently closed. The total area of all quarries is 40.5 km², with a void space of 6.5 km³, and depths as great as 300 metres. There are also 44 mining waste disposal sites, occupying an area of 69 km² with a total waste volume of 1.64 km³. A further 1.4 km³ of ore enrichment process waste is stored at waste disposal sites for mine tailings. The depth of ore mines is up to 1,100 m.

Kryvyi Rih takes the third place in the world in extraction of iron ore, mining complex of Kryvyi Rih provides about 90 percents of total amounts of extraction of iron ore, manufacture of a concentrate and pellets in Ukraine.

The area's industrial growth began in the 1880s, when European investment founded a mining syndicate. The metallurgical works in the city, Kryvorizhstal, in particular, expanded through Soviet times, and now remain some of the largest in the world.

5. ktu- the center of ore mining engineers training

ktu- the center of ore mining engineers training

Since 20-ies of the last century we have been training highly-qualified engineers for various branches of Ukrainian economic sector. Having the priority in training specialists for the mining industry the University has greatly widened the spectrum of specialists. . They are electro mechanics, civil engineers, economists, engineers-pedagogists, programmers, metallurgists, automobilists, geodesists, managers, geologists and others.

The University comprises 9 fulltime departments, training research, studying-scientific ore mining institute, research complex with numerous laboratories, 5 technical schools. . 800 professors, professor assistant professors, lectures, make teaching staff of the University.

Scientists of the university carry out a great scope of scientific research in different fields of Ukrainian economic development, namely: improvement of surface and underground ore mining technologies, development of more efficient useful component recovery when raw materials treating construction technology and organization updating, optimization and automation of industrial control on the basis of modern informational technologies..

Dynamic personnel potential, developed scientific and material resources have placed one of the leading places among the state technical universities in Ukraine.. Thanks to the fruitful cooperation with the allied foreign institutions of high education Kryvyi Rih Technical University guarantees the education on the world-top level.

Prospects for Kryvyi Rih Technical University further development are evidently hopeful