Black Iron CEO Matt Simpson brings Shymanivske story to World Economic Forum in Davos

Black Iron Inc (TSE:BKI) (OTCMKTS:BKIRF) CEO Matt Simpson brought the Shymanivske story to world leaders and investors at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland last week. Simpson participated in a panel discussion at the Ukraine House during the forum to talk about the firm’s experience as a major investor in Ukraine. The Toronto-based firm is advancing the Shymanivske iron ore project in the country, a 646-million-ton resource that is primed for construction. READ: Black Iron to acquire Ukraine government land to advance Shymanivske project As part of the panel, called “Untapped Potential: Ukraine as Europe’s Next Industrial Powerhouse,” Simpson told investors gathered at Ukraine House about the positive changes that have occurred in the Eastern European country since Russia’s invasion of Crimea in 2014. “This is a great opportunity to raise with world leaders the importance of Ukraine having highly successful examples of foreign investment, such as the funding and construction of Black Iron’s iron ore mine, as the most sustainable way for the country to realize its citizens ambitions of having higher living standards,” Simpson told Proactive. “As a Canadian publicly traded company on the Toronto Stock Exchange, Black Iron’s experience and success serve as an important benchmark for other foreign investors to help attract and provide confidence on investing as a foreigner in Ukraine,” he added. The current Ukrainian government is demonstrating its commitment to reopening the country to foreign investment following the turbulence of the past few years. In just seven months since taking office, president Volodymyr Zelensky and his government made the decision to remove immunity from prosecution for members of parliament and launch an anti-corruption court. Zelensky publicly backed Shymanivske last July during a speech to the Economic Club of Canada. The project is located just outside of Zelensky’s hometown of Kryvyi Rih, which is expected to be a major source of labour for Black Iron once the project goes into production. In November, Black Iron struck an agreement with Ukraine's government to acquire a key parcel of land being used by the country's Ministry of Defense for the location of Black Iron's future processing plant, tailings and waste rock stockpiles, a key step forward in Shymanivske’s path to construction. The Davos panel also featured speakers from the State Property Fund of Ukraine, BGV Group and Siemens Ukraine. Contact Angela at angela@proactiveinvestors.com Follow her on Twitter @AHarmantas