Critical Metals Corp executive director Tony Sage has visited the production assets of Ukrainian titanium holding Velta, confirming that the US-listed company has begun directing investment into the assets as it absorbs European Lithium in a deal valued at $835 million.
The visit signals that the corporate restructuring — which originally envisaged Velta Holding being acquired by European Lithium before the transaction structure shifted to Critical Metals absorbing European Lithium instead — has not disrupted the strategic partnership or the agreed development plans for a critical raw materials cluster in Ukraine. According to Velta, the strategic content of the partnership and the development roadmap remain unchanged.
First-stage financing has already been directed toward the rapid modernisation of the Birzulyvskyi mining and processing complex. The partnership is now moving to the next phase, involving capital re-equipment of the complex and preparation for the development of the Likarivskyi deposit, which will serve as the raw material base for the planned CRM cluster. The two sides are currently preparing the next stage of a four-year, $250 million investment programme.
The longer-term objective is to build a vertically integrated production chain running from critical material extraction through to the manufacture of high-value-added end products for global industrial markets — positioning Ukraine as a contributor to Western critical minerals supply chains outside China.
