Velta, a growing player in titanium extraction, plans to build a mining complex in Ukraine after the war and to build a plant to produce metallic titanium powder in the US this year.

The company plans to attract $35M in funding for this project and more than $15M per year for the next five years. The main sales markets for its products will be the US and Europe.

The production complex will be built in three stages, ultimately producing up to 10,000 tons of titanium powder in 5.5 years. According to the Director of Velta, Anatolii Amelin, negotiations are underway to attract investment to launch the project in the US. Established in 2006, Velta occupies 2% of the world titanium market.

The company’s research and development center has created a new technology to produce titanium metal powder from titanium ore without the necessity of a titanium sponge.

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Anatoly Amelin, Investment and Strategy Director of Velta, said that at the first stage, lasting 18 months, it is planned to achieve the production of 1,000 tons of titanium powder with a total investment of $100 million.

According to him, at the second stage, lasting 20 months, it is planned to increase production to 5,000 tons of titanium powder with an investment of $400 million, and at the third stage, lasting 26 months, 10,000 tons of powder and an investment of $1 billion.

At the first stage, 200 people will be required, at the second - 950 people, at the third - 2150 people.

Anatoly Amelin said that the United States has included titanium in the list of critical materials and intends to reduce its dependence on China in this product. Ukraine currently ranks 4th in the world in terms of ilmenite (titanium) ore reserves.

The top manager of Velta predicts the growth of world production of titanium dioxide, as well as the profitability of titanium projects. Anatoly Amelin believes that the main reason for the growth is the more active use of 3D printing, which reduces production time and improves product quality.

Velta, which was founded in 2006, today occupies 2% of the world titanium market. The company has its own research and development center, which has created a new modern technology for the production of titanium metal powder from titanium ore, without obtaining titanium sponge.

"We plan to build a mining complex in Ukraine after the war, and this year we plan to start building a plant in the US to produce titanium metal powder," Amelin said.

It is planned to attract funding of $35 million for this project and more than $15 million per year over the next 5 years. The main sales markets for the products will be the USA and Europe.

"Now we are negotiating to attract investments. We have negotiations with some investors, we plan to start construction this year, but not in Ukraine, but in the USA, at the second stage we plan to build a plant in Ukraine," the top manager said.

Velta Holding LLC owns 100% of PKF Velta LLC. The ultimate beneficiaries are three individuals: Andrei Brodsky (60%), Vadim Moskalenko (20%) and Vitaly Malakhov (20%).

LINK:https://inventure.com.ua/en/news/ukraine/velta-to-build-a-titanium-powder-plant-in-the-us-and-ukraine-with-a-dollar1.5b-investment