Australian company European Lithium Limited, listed on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) under the ticker symbol “EUR,” announced on Tuesday that it had entered into a binding agreement to acquire 100% of the shares of Velta Holding, an American titanium company that owns production and mining assets of the same name in Ukraine.
“Under the terms of the agreement, European Lithium will acquire 100% of Velta’s issued capital for a total consideration of approximately 173 million fully paid shares of European Lithium, subject to completion of due diligence and satisfaction of customary closing conditions,” the exchange announcement said.
According to ASX data, European Lithium shares fell 6.56% to AUD0.28 per share (about $0.19 per share) at the opening of trading on Tuesday. Once these conditions are met, the shares will be issued and transferred to Velta’s existing shareholders.
“The proposed agreement with European Lithium provides an opportunity to advance a number of development initiatives in Ukraine and the United States that the Group has been preparing over the past decade. These initiatives focus on both horizontal and vertical integration, supporting the transition from a raw material-based model to the production of titanium metal and other critical value-added materials,” said Andrey Brodsky, CEO of Velta Holding, in a statement.
According to ASX data, a total of 1 billion 734 million 351,762 thousand shares have been issued to date, and the company’s capitalization is approximately AUD529 million. European Lithium’s revenue in fiscal year 2025 (ended June 2025) increased to AUD1.13 million from AUD0.7 million in FY2024, while net loss decreased to AUD71.49 million from AUD194.93 million.
“The acquisition of Velta is an important step in expanding European Lithium’s access from lithium to critical and strategic minerals. Titanium is a key material used in the aerospace, defense, medical, and industrial sectors, and Velta’s asset base and technical capabilities provide the company with a platform for future growth,” explained Tony Sage, Executive Chairman of European Lithium, explaining the interest in the deal.
It is also noted that European Lithium is interested in developing an integrated production chain—from the extraction and processing of raw materials to the production of titanium metal powders and finished components, particularly for additive manufacturing, which supports higher margins and a more sustainable business model.
The release notes that despite the ongoing war in Ukraine, Velta Holding maintains support for its export markets and operational stability, but any further expansion of production capacity and investment programs will depend on the current security situation and the fulfillment of the terms of the proposed agreement.
Velta is a titanium company operating primarily in the Kirovograd region in central Ukraine. The group’s assets include ilmenite and titanium ore resources, associated processing facilities, proprietary technologies, and logistics aimed at supplying high-quality titanium materials to global markets. According to Velta Holding’s estimates, it occupies approximately 2% of the global titanium raw materials market.
The holding company is developing the Birzulovskoye deposit, where it launched an enrichment plant in 2012, and has a transshipment complex in neighboring Novomyrhorod, designed to handle approximately 300,000 tons of cargo per year. Velta’s assets also include the Likarovskoye deposit and the leased former Novomirgorodskaya brown coal mine with an area of 30 hectares, where processing facilities for the production of metallic zirconium and hafnium, metallic titanium and titanium products, as well as a transshipment complex with a capacity of more than 1.5 million tons per year.
In the fall of 2025, during a visit to the enterprise by representatives of the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) and the US-Ukraine Investment Fund, Velta presented various projects within the framework of building a CRM (Critical Raw Materials) cluster with a total investment of approximately $243 million over four years.
The ilmenite resources of the Birzulovsky deposit according to JORC standards amount to 2.06 million tons, while the Likarovsky deposit, for which JORC standards are currently being approved, has approximately 2.5-2.8 million tons. The deposit also contains 41,000 tons of zirconium, 15 million tons of kaolin, and 17 million tons of clay. Potential production is estimated at 280,000 tons of ilmenite, zirconium oxide – 500 tons, metallic zirconium and hafnium – 10 tons each, finished titanium products – about 30 tons, titanium powders – 1,200 tons, kaolin – 700,000 tons, and clay – 800,000 tons.
Velta Holding also includes the Velta RD Titan research and development center and Velta Medical, a manufacturer of custom titanium implants. The ultimate beneficiaries are Andrei Brodsky (60%), Vadim Moskalenko (20%), and Vitaly Malakhov (20%).
European Lithium Limited is an exploration and development stage mining company focused on lithium assets in Austria, Ukraine, and Ireland, as well as various assets in Australia and a rare earth metals project in Greenland. The release notes that European Lithium currently owns 44.982% of the common shares of US-based Critical Metals, which as of January 26, 2026, are valued at approximately $879.06 million.
At the end of last year, European Lithium’s subsidiary applied for a production sharing agreement on the Dobra lithium deposit in Ukraine, but lost.
In 2025, the Kryvyi Rih plant increased its production of 6% moisture coke by 16.4% to 1 million 460.3 thousand tonnes. This allows it to meet its own needs for main production.
At the same time, the mining department, whose work depends on a stable power supply, showed a decline:
– Iron ore concentrate production fell by 3.3% to 7.56 million tonnes.
– Iron ore mining decreased by 4.2% to 18.4 million tonnes.
Management explained this as a direct result of energy supply restrictions caused by attacks on infrastructure, which caused the mining complex to operate below pre-war levels.
ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih is the largest producer of rolled steel in Ukraine. It specialises in the production of long products, in particular, rebar and wire rod. The company has a full production cycle, with production capacities designed for an annual output of over 6 million tonnes of steel, more than 5 million tonnes of rolled products and over 5.5 million tonnes of pig iron.
ArcelorMittal owns Ukraine’s largest mining and metallurgical complex, ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih, and a number of small companies, including ArcelorMittal Beryslav.
The Experts Club analytical center has published a video study on silver production in the world by leading countries in 1971-2024, which shows the long-term restructuring of production geography and the strengthening of the role of Latin America and a number of Asian countries.
According to the study (source: BGS), Mexico will remain the largest silver producer in 2024 with 7.43 million kg, having been the undisputed world leader in silver production for 15 consecutive years. It is followed by China with 3.389 million kg and Peru with 3.065 million kg. The next group of producers includes Russia (1.604 million kg), Poland (1.534 million kg), Bolivia (1.495 million kg), Australia (1.218 million kg), the United States (1.097 million kg), Chile (1.049 million kg), and Kazakhstan (878,000 kg).
The top 20 for 2024 also included Argentina (775 thousand kg), India (769 thousand kg), Canada (410 thousand kg), Sweden (372 thousand kg), Indonesia (325 thousand kg), Uzbekistan (258 thousand kg), Morocco (224,000 kg), Papua New Guinea (137,000 kg), Brazil (102,600 kg), and Turkey (96,130 kg).
The study notes that over the decade, the centers of production have changed: some countries have increased output by expanding polymetallic projects, where silver is often a by-product, while leadership has gradually consolidated among large producers with a stable raw material base and developed processing.
Commenting on the results, Experts Club founder Maxim Urakin emphasized that the long series from 1971 to 2024 shows not just a “race” between countries, but investment cycles and a structural shift in demand: “Silver is increasingly perceived as a strategic metal — both for industry and for investors, so understanding who has been increasing production for decades and how helps to assess future risks of shortages and price spikes.”
According to analysts’ estimates, the value of silver in 2025 rose by a record 128.47%, which was the best result among major assets and exceeded the dynamics of gold (+66.59%) as well as the largest crypto assets, which ended 2025 in negative territory (BTC -5.75%, ETH -11.58%).
The video analysis is available on the Experts Club YouTube channel –
Maidan-Vilsky quarry LLC, part of Golden Tile ceramic group, intends to expand production and continue mining.
According to documentation available to the Interfax-Ukraine agency, it is expected to “conduct an environmental impact assessment procedure in connection with the expansion and changes in the planned activities for the construction and subsequent operation of the feldspar feldspar charge magnetic enrichment complex by the wet method.”
The timing of the environmental impact assessment is not disclosed.
Golden Tile Ceramic Group is a vertically integrated group of companies providing a full cycle of production and distribution of ceramic tiles.
According to the official website of the group, its structure includes PrJSC Kharkiv Tile Plant (Kharkiv), Maidan-Vilsky Quarry LLC, Maidan-Vilsky Refractories Plant LLC (both in Khmelnytsky region), PA Shakhtostroy (Donetsk region) and Golden Tile LLC (Kiev, official distributor of the Kharkiv Tile Plant).
The Commission for Emergency Situations of Moldova has banned cryptocurrency mining in the country, as well as the import of equipment for it.
According to the decision of the Commission on Emergency Situations, this is one of the measures taken in connection with the energy crisis.
Among other measures – the requirement for the owners of the premises to use heating devices so that the temperature in the room during working hours does not exceed 19 degrees, and outside of working hours – 15 degrees. Also, the owners of the premises will have to abandon advertising, decorative and architectural lighting, as well as turn off the fountains.
In addition, indoor escalators must be suspended from 7 am to 11 am and from 6 pm to 11 pm.
At the end of October, Moldova faced an energy crisis after Ukraine stopped exporting 30% of the electricity needed by the country, and the Moldavskaya GRES cannot supply the contracted 70% due to the reduction in gas supplies to Moldova from Gazprom. So far, urgently during the period of shortage, Moldova buys electricity from Romania.
Coal mining enterprises of Ukraine in January 2022 reduced production of coal by 1.8% (by 46,800 tonnes) compared to the same period last year – to 2.534 million tonnes, according to the data of the Energy Ministry.
According to the calculations of the Interfax-Ukraine agency, in particular coal mining enterprises under the control of the ministry last month reduced production by 0.2% – to 329,600 tonnes.
The mines of Donetsk region in January 2022 ensured the production of 1.053 million tonnes of coal (down 4.8% compared to January 2021), Luhansk region – 21,200 tonnes (down 1%), Dnipropetrovsk – 1.386 million tonnes (up 3.6%), Lviv region – 68,800 tonnes (down 39%), Volyn region – 4,200 tonnes (up 3.1 times).
As reported, Ukraine in 2021 increased production of coal by 2% compared to 2020 – to 29.388 million tonnes. Production of steam coal amounted to 22.153 million tonnes, coking coal – 7.234 million tonnes.
