The Uzbek Industrial Metals Plant has made the first export delivery of rhenium metal with a purity of 99.9%.
The contract was concluded with the Estonian company VLCor Baltic OU, a supplier of raw materials for the foundry, aerospace and machine-building industries. This is the first time Uzbekistan has exported this strategic metal.
Rhenium is one of the rarest and most expensive elements of the periodic table. It is used in the production of heat-resistant superalloys, in particular for jet engine turbines, as well as in the petrochemical and electronics industries. The main consumers of rhenium in the world are the United States, Europe and China.
The global rhenium market is about 50-60 tons per year, with prices ranging from $2000 to $4000 per kilogram, depending on the purity level and form of delivery. The largest producers are Chile, the United States, Kazakhstan, and China.
The emergence of Uzbekistan among the suppliers may to some extent change the situation in the niche market, which is characterized by high dependence on a limited number of sources and unstable pricing.
According to UzCTM, the technology for producing rhenium by hydrogen reduction of ammonium perenate was mastered in 2021. In 2025, the company plans to produce 3 tons of rhenium metal.
UzKTM’s total exports in the first half of the year amounted to $21.3 million, up 118% year-on-year.
By the end of the year, the plant also plans to produce 842 tons of molybdenum, 96 tons of tungsten, 5 tons of selenium and 1 ton of tellurium. Exports are expected to account for more than $50 million of the planned $70 million in revenue.
Earlier, First Deputy Minister of Mining and Geology of Uzbekistan Omonullo Nasriddinhodzhayev said that in 2024-2028, UzKTM would implement more than 70 projects in the field of critical minerals. The total cost of the program is estimated at $1.6 billion.
Uzbekistan has deposits of more than 30 strategic metals, including lithium, molybdenum, tungsten, germanium, vanadium, graphite, and titanium. The country’s government expects that the development of deep processing in this area will help ensure sustainable export positions in the markets of rare and rare earth elements.
As a reminder, in April 2024, Uzbekistan and the EU signed a memorandum of understanding on the development of sustainable value chains in the field of critical raw materials. This is expected to help Uzbekistan develop its mining industry, and for the EU, guarantee access to minerals such as copper and molybdenum.
In September 2024, Uzbekistan also signed a memorandum on critical minerals with the United States.
You can learn more about the prospects for rare earth mining in Ukraine in the video: https://www.Youtube.Com/watch?V=uhebfpywpqc&t
PJSC Centravis Production Ukraine (Nikopol, Dnipro region), a part of Centravis Ltd. holding, presented two projects to modernize production and expand pipe production for a total of $14.5 million at the Ukraine Recovery Conference (URC2025) held on July 10-12 in Rome.
According to the company’s information in the URC project catalog, the first project concerns the segment of oil and gas tubular goods (OCTG). It involves the development and supply of seamless pipes and stainless steel pipes that meet 25 CRA (corrosion-resistant alloy) standards, with a focus primarily on the fast-growing market for carbon capture and storage (CCS) infrastructure in the United States and Europe.
It is expected that new equipment will be purchased to produce pipes, couplings and casing for CO2 or oil wells in accordance with the API 5 CRA standard. Diameter – from 60 mm to 240 mm, length 11-13 m, wall thickness – in a wide range.
Target market: carbon capture applications in the US and Europe, oil and gas in the US, Europe, and the Middle East.
The scope of work for the project has already been determined, the preliminary tender process for its budget has been completed, and the project is ready for implementation. The equipment is planned to be installed at Centravis’ premises in Nikopol in the hot shop. API 5 CRA licensing is expected by the end of 2025.
The total project budget is $11 million, and $10 million needs to be raised, according to the company. Expected financial indicators: net present value (NPV) – $13.3 million, revenue in 2030 – $45 million, EBITDA in 2030 – $18 million.
The project launch period is two years.
Until 2025, $0.1 million will be invested in the development of the concept and technical design, this year $0.3 million will be needed for design, in 2026 – $4.6 million for construction, in 2027 – $6 million for the start of operation.
The second project is to expand the product range by launching the production of small-sized (4 mm in diameter) seamless stainless pipes with high precision. The project will allow the company to enter the hydrogen, semiconductor, medical, and aerospace industries. It is expected to expand Centravis’ product offering, strengthening its position in the precision tubing market, as this is a highly profitable segment. The target market is America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.
The technological parameters of the project include the purchase of equipment to support production.
This project is also ready to be implemented: the scope of work has been determined, and the preliminary tender process for its budget has been completed. The equipment is planned to be installed at the Centravis premises in Uzhhorod. At the same time, it is specified that this project will be developed mainly on its own.
Its total budget is $3.5 million, and $3 million is needed to raise it. Expected financial indicators: net present value (NPV) – $5.5 million, revenue in 2030 – $7.5 million, EBITDA in 2030 – $2.5 million.
The project launch period is two years.
At the same time, $0.2 million should be invested in the project in 2025 for design and construction, and in 2026, funding of $3.3 million will be required to start operations.
As reported, Centravis increased its production of seamless stainless pipes by 12.6% in 2024 compared to 2023, to 13.7 thousand tons. Centravis exported almost all of its products.
The company plans to increase production to 15 thousand tons in 2025.
“Founded in 2000, Centravis is one of the ten largest producers of seamless stainless steel pipes in the world. Its main production facilities are located in Nikopol (Dnipropetrovska oblast). In 2023, the company opened a branch in Uzhhorod.
Centravis Holding Ltd. was established on the basis of Nikopol Stainless Pipe Plant CJSC, service and trading companies of Production and Commercial Enterprise YUVIS LLC. Its shareholders are members of the Atanasov family. Centravis Ltd. owns 100% of the shares in Centravis Production Ukraine.
Current trends and drivers of cryptocurrency growth
Institutional involvement and legislation
ETFs and ICO activity
Real-world asset (RWA) tokenization
Technologies and AI tokens
Security and hacker attacks
Forecast for the end of July and August
Bitcoin (BTC)
Ethereum (ETH)
Growth and pressure factors
Growth.
Risks:
Source: https://www.fixygen.ua/news/20250722/oglyad-kriptovalyut-na-22-chervnya-2025-roku-vid-fixygen.html
The interest of foreigners in purchasing premium housing in Ukraine for investment purposes is gradually recovering, developers toldInterfax-Ukraine.
“The interest of foreigners has recovered and in some cases, for example, in our projects, the number of transactions with foreigners exceeds the number of transactions with Ukrainians. Among our clients are Spaniards, Japanese, Canadians and others who invest in business and premium class with a clear view to the future. They see the potential in both long-term lease and value growth,” said Irina Mikhaleva, CMO of Alliance Novobud.
According to Susanna Karakhanyan, Director of Sales at Greenville, foreign clients are considering both investment purchase of apartments and housing for themselves, but they are postponing the purchase until safer times.
“Interest from non-residents has partially recovered recently. We note a trend that foreigners regularly visit apartment inspections, but do not buy yet – they are waiting for stabilization in Ukraine,” she explained.
Although the majority of the housing of the Odesa-based developer Dva Akademika is bought by local residents (up to 60% of clients), the share of transactions with foreign investors has increased over the past year and a half, the company said.
“In terms of geography, 55-60% are local residents, in our case, Odesa. Up to 30% are other cities of Ukraine. However, over the past year, these figures have begun to change with the emergence of foreign investors. In the period 2024-2025, 35% of transactions are concluded with foreign investors: UAE, Slovakia, Turkey, Italy, USA, Greece, Israel and Romania,” said Maxim Odintsov, Development Director of Dva Akademika Construction Company.
In addition, foreigners’ demand remains for Ukrainian residential projects where foreign companies are involved as partners, according to RIEL.
“We have projects that are quite actively sought after by foreigners. For example, Maxima Residence has traditionally been of interest to foreigners, in particular Turkish citizens. This is due to the fact that it is a joint project of RIEL and the Turkish developer Bosphorus Development,” explained Zoryana Zemlynska, coordinator of RIEL’s sales department in Kyiv.
At the same time, KAN Development noted that the share of foreigners among buyers remains insignificant, and the demand for premium housing is mainly recovering due to people who invested before the war.
“The share of foreigners among buyers remains insignificant. These are mainly those who are considering investing with an eye to the minimum cost of entry into the market,” the developer’s press service said at the request of Interfax-Ukraine.
According to Oleksandr Nasykovsky, managing partner of DIM Group, Ukrainians who have been living abroad for a long time have appeared in the structure of demand for premium housing.
“We observe the following trend: some buyers who have free funds do not deliberately withdraw them abroad, but ”park” them in real estate with an eye to price growth in the future and preservation of asset value. As for foreign nationals, we do not see any activity on their part for reasons that are clear to everyone. However, there is a small share of Ukrainians who have been living abroad for a long time,” the businessman said.
Yaroslav Hadzalo, President of the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine (NAAS), has been suspended from office by the Pechersk District Court of Kyiv until the pre-trial investigation is completed.
“In addition to the removal from office, the court partially granted the prosecutor’s request for a preventive measure, imposing a number of duties on the suspect… Due to the leniency of the chosen preventive measure, the prosecution filed an appeal, as it reasonably believes that there are risks of the suspect’s influence on the course of the investigation,” the Prosecutor General’s Office website said on Tuesday morning.
The NAAS President is suspected of aiding and abetting the embezzlement of budget funds committed by a group of persons by prior conspiracy (Part 5 of Article 27, Part 3 of Article 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).
“He employed his driver at four state-owned agricultural enterprises controlled by him. In fact, the driver did not work there, but only drove the President of the National Academy of Sciences in the company car of one of the enterprises. In 2020, the president of the National Academy of Sciences personally approved the staffing tables, knowing that the same driver was involved in each of the enterprises. This allowed him to pay salaries for work that was not actually performed. As a result of these actions, money was paid from the budget for fictitious work,” the State Bureau of Investigation website reports.
It is reported that the personal driver of the President of the National Academy of Sciences received a salary totaling more than UAH 200 thousand from the state budget.
As reported, the Office of the Prosecutor General opened criminal proceedings on abuse of office by NAAS officials back in August 2020, after which Hadzalo was charged with a number of suspicions and repeatedly removed from office. In particular, he was suspected of assisting in the appointment of the head of a state-owned enterprise, interfering with the activities of an executive service employee, and transferring 150 thousand hectares of the Academy’s agricultural land to private individuals. Gadzalo denied that the Academy’s management received funds for the transfer of land under the control of other persons.
The sales rates in the season-2024 were significantly higher compared to the previous year, especially for corn and sunflower, Agrohub reported based on the results of two waves of research on the efficiency and effectiveness of growing the main crops of the season-2024.
“At the time of the first wave of the study (end of January 2025), the percentage of sales of these crops was more than 60%, while at the end of January 2024, only 25% of corn and 27% of sunflower were sold,” the researchers said.
According to the study, sunflower was sold almost completely, which was due to a decrease in its share in the crop structure and high demand from the processing industry, as well as an increase in the number of oil extraction plants. For export-oriented crops, a stable sea export corridor plays an important role in shaping the sales rate: despite the threats and shelling of port infrastructure, it remained the most effective channel for selling products, analysts say.
The positive price situation was the main factor behind the growth of profitability of agricultural production in 2024, the report says. Thus, the break-even point decreased in many crops, while the profitability indicators increased. According to the results of the season-2024, the average forecast EBITDA for such crops as winter wheat, rapeseed and barley, as well as sunflower and corn amounted to $402 per 1 ha, which exceeded last year’s forecast level of $94 per 1 ha, i.e. 4.3 times, Agrohub calculated.
The analysts reminded that the forecast EBITDA is an expected estimate of profitability per hectare, calculated on the basis of current selling prices of already sold products and forecast prices for the residues.
Experts identify sunflower, corn, and rapeseed as the crops with the highest expected profitability in the 2025 season.
Despite the fact that in the 2024 season the yields of the studied crops decreased, the positive price dynamics during the year allowed not only to maintain but also to increase the profitability of crops. The main reason for the decrease in yields was drought and heat in the central, southern and eastern regions. Soil temperatures in summer reached above +60°C, and local rains failed to save the situation. In the West, where there is traditionally more rainfall, the yield decline was not significant, the researchers emphasized.
In addition, analysts drew attention to an interesting trend in the dynamics of costs, which has been observed for two seasons in a row. In particular, the costs of growing decreased slightly – within 8% for sunflower and rapeseed, mainly due to the reduction of fertilizer costs. At the same time, crop protection costs for sunflower and corn decreased by 11% due to dry weather conditions. Lower yields per hectare and dry weather conditions resulted in lower costs for transportation and grain processing, as the average moisture content of harvested corn in the 2024 season was 16.7% compared to 19.8% a year ago.
“The 2024 season illustrated how the agricultural business in Ukraine is learning to adapt to complex challenges: from war and unstable logistics to climate change and lack of resources. Increasing profitability and efficiency in such conditions is the result of flexibility, strategic planning and proper agricultural practices,” Oksana Bobrova, Head of Agrohub Benchmarking, summarized in her statement.
The study of the first and second waves of efficiency and effectiveness indicators of the main crops of the 2024 season, conducted by Agrohub, involved 14 largest Ukrainian agricultural holdings. The total area of analysis covered 1.7 million hectares in eight macro-regions of Ukraine.
The data on crop sales in the 2024 season are based on Agrohub’s research conducted in January-May 2025 among 83 field companies with a total area of 1.7 mln ha. The area of the studied crops: sunflower – 302.5 thou hectares, corn – 363.4 thou hectares, soybeans – 411.2 thou hectares, winter wheat – 403.5 thou hectares, winter rapeseed – 169.5 thou hectares and winter barley – 18 thou hectares.
