Velta industrial and commercial firm LLC with titanium ore production assets in Ukraine (Kirovohrad region) has agreed to supply $100 million of ilmenite, a titanium feedstock, under a five-year supply contract with the Traxys Group, a global commodity trading group, aimed at meeting the needs of the North American market.
Velta said in press release that it has been working in the U.S. market for seven years.
“Given that North America is one of the most stable and fast growing markets, we have decided to enter a longer-term contract, which will ensure additional stability of the company’s operations,” CEO of Velta Andriy Brodsky said.
He said that the main competitive advantage of Velta is that the company produces high-quality high-titanium feedstock, which is currently scarce in the world and in great demand in the U.S. market.
“Titanium Dioxide pigment is a core business of our group. We are pleased to partner with such a high quality and reliable miner as Velta,” Traxys Head of Industrial Minerals Eli Skornicki said.
According to the press release, the ultimate consumer under the contract is Chemours. Chemours is a new kind of chemistry company driven by their purpose to create a more colorful, capable, and cleaner world through the power of chemistry. Chemours is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of titanium dioxide (TiO₂). The company’s Ti-Pure™ brand delivers industry-leading innovation to address the growing worldwide demand for high-quality TiO₂ by developing brighter, more efficient pigments for the coatings, plastics, and laminates markets. Its annual sales exceed $6.5 billion. Chemours employs more than 7,000 people worldwide.
Traxys, headquartered in Luxembourg, is a physical commodity trader and merchant in the metals and natural resources sectors. Its logistics, marketing, distribution, supply chain management and trading activities are conducted by over 400 employees, in over 20 offices worldwide, and its annual turnover is in excess of $7 billion. The group serves a broad base of industrial customers and offers a full range of commercial and financial services.
Velta LLC has been mining and processing titanium feedstock at Byrzulivske deposit in Kirovohrad region since 2012. The company also holds a license for the industrial development of Likarivske deposit with similar feedstock. From 2012 to 2019, Velta mined 1 million tonnes of ilmenite. The total number of jobs exceeds 500. Velta founded a research and development center Velta RD Titan that works on creating new methods for processing titanium feedstock.
CONTRACT, LUXEMBOURG TRAXYS, PRODUCTION, TITANIUM ORE, VELTA
Ukrainian airports tentatively serviced 24.337 million passengers in 2019, which is 18.5% more than in 2018.
According to a posting on the website of the State Aviation Administration of Ukraine, the passenger flow on it routes grew by 19.8%, to 21.996 million people.
The administration said that in 2019, Ukrainian airlines serviced 13.722 million people, which is 9.5% more than in 2018. A total of 12.56 million passengers were carried on international routes (growth by 9.7% compared with 2018).
Last year, Ukrainian airlines performed 102,600 commercial flights (an increase of 2.4% compared to 2018), including 86,200 international one (an increase of 2.6%).
As reported, in 2018 the passenger flow of Ukrainian airports amounted to 20.546 million people, which corresponds to a 24.5% increase compared to 2017.
Official rates of banking metals from national bank as of January 14
One troy ounce=31.10 grams
National bank of Ukraine’s official rates as of 14/01/20
Source: National Bank of Ukraine
Grain and leguminous crop harvest in Ukraine in 2019 was around 75 million tonnes compared with 70.1 million tonnes in 2018, according to the Ministry of Economic Development, Trade and Agriculture.
“According to the ministry, the grain harvest amounted to about 75 million tonnes, of which 54 million tonnes will be exported to foreign markets. We will receive final forecasts for grain production in March according to the State Statistics Service,” Deputy Minister of economic, Economic Development, Trade and Agriculture Taras Vysotsky said.
The ministry said that as of January 10, 2019 and from the beginning of the 2019/2020 agricultural year (July-June), Ukraine exported 32.08 million tonnes of grain, which is 7.8 million tonnes more than in the same period of the previous agri-year.
In particular, the following crops were delivered to foreign markets: 15.1 million tonnes of wheat, 12.8 million tonnes of corn, 3.8 million tonnes of barley, and 5,000 tonnes of rye.
In addition, 197,000 tonnes of wheat flour and other crops were exported, which is 68,500 tonnes more than in the corresponding period of the previous agri-year.
Ernest Airlines from January 11 suspended all flights over the suspension of its license, the airline has reported on its website.
“Following the provision of the National Civil Aviation Authority (ENAC) of 29 December 2019 regarding the temporary suspension of our operating license, we find ourselves unable to operate flights as of 11.01.2020,” the airline said in a press release.
Ernest Airlines said that the license can be restored following the demonstration by Ernest S.p.A. to be in possession of the requirements prescribed by the current legislation on the matter and to obtain the revocation of the provision issued by ENAC.
“We have activated all the actions aimed at obtaining the revocation of the same provision, and we need time to provide all the necessary evidence as per Regulation (EC) n.1008 of 2008 to demonstrate our financial sustainability necessary for the resumption of our operation. We know that nor a simple apology, or just the reimbursement of the ticket, will be enough to remedy the problems caused, but I can assure you, that we all at Ernest Airlines are doing our best to assist all our passengers that have experienced delays or cancellations in this difficult moment,” the airline said.
The Lviv International Airport also posted information on the cancellation of the Rome-Lviv-Rome flight ERN237/238 on its Facebook page.
Earlier Ernest Airlines said that the airline blocked sales of transport contracts for all flights departing from January 13, 2020 over the suspension of the airline’s operating license.
