Russia has entirely looted Ukrainian mineral resources from the Katerynivka quarry in Donetsk Oblast, according to Petro Andriushchenko, head of the Center for the Study of Occupation. The site was rich in alkaline kaolin, used in the production of ceramics, electrical engineering products, and aluminum manufacturing.
Mariupol district loses resources
“Mariupol district. The Russians have completely destroyed yet another industrial facility. Literally. The Katerynivka alkaline kaolin quarry is officially ‘dead’. The reserves are exhausted,” Andriushchenko says.
According to him, the quarry had been operational since 2003, during which approximately two million tons of raw materials were extracted.
Alkaline kaolin served many industries
By fall 2025, extraction at the quarry had to cease as the reserves were depleted, and the enterprise underwent a phased reclamation process.
Andriushchenko says that it is simply the final chapter in local kaolin extraction which was exported through the Mariupol port to Russia under strict regulations.
"Alkaline kaolin was used in the production of semi-acidic refractories, faience and ceramics, paints, and, when purified, even in pharmaceuticals as an inert binding additive,” he explains.
Colonialism and looting
He noted that the resource is now exhausted, marking yet another example of Russian colonialism and plunder.
