Follow Argex Titanium On Its Pathway To Production

Argex Titanium Inc. RGX expects to change the way titanium dioxide is produced. Its technology, in fact, has received a thumbs-up from PPG Industries PPG, the world’s largest paint manufacturer.

Keep up to date with breaking news, commentaries, and interviews by following Argex Titanium here.

TiO2 is a white, opaque and naturally-occurring mineral and is one of the top 50 chemicals produced worldwide. It is odourless and absorbent. 

“It’s the light that’s reflecting off the TiO2 that is creating opacity and masking whatever is behind the paint,” Argex Titanium Inc. (TSX: RGX) President and CEO Roy Bonnell told SmallCapPower.com.  

Argex expects to change the way TiO2 is produced. The Company’s proprietary technology uses solvent extraction to make the high quality TiO2 pigment from raw titanium ore. It is a significant change from the two existing processes: chloride and sulphate, which are not environmentally friendly.  Argex’s proprietary process, on the other hand, is significantly greener making it more difficult for scientists to come up with an alternative.     

Mr. Bonnell believes the Argex method is better in two distinct ways. First, it is likely to be the lowest-cost production technique in the industry. Argex’s process utilizes lower quality, low cost Ilmenite titanium dioxide as raw material and coverts it to a high purity TiO2 product, allowing Argex to capture the greater margins compared to its competitors. Second, it is able to utilize a greater variety of ore bodies as compared with the other methods. 

“Argex’s process allows the other metals in the ore it receives to be extracted as pure, saleable by-products, and thus allows the company to produce a pure titanium dioxide,” he explained. These by-products drive down the production cost per TiO2 tonne to under $1000 / tonne. This offers a high margin with TiO2 selling at approximately $3,400/tonne at today’s prices.

Argex’s technology has received a thumbs-up from PPG Industries PPG, the world’s largest paint manufacturer, which signed both an offtake agreement and a services sharing agreement with company. This includes a technical collaboration agreement intended to make Argex’s TiO2 pigment compatible with various end-use applications for PPG; the offtake agreement will make PPG will be Argex’s first customer for TiO2 pigment suitable for use in its architectural paint production. PPG previously manufactured titanium dioxide using the chloride process at one of its chemicals plants.

In addition, on August 26, 2014, Argex announced an exclusive long-term marketing and supply agreement with HELM U.S. for the distribution of TiO2 in the United States and Canada. Under this agreement, HELM U.S. will exclusively market and distribute 50%, up to 25,000 metric tons per year, of TiO2 produced from Argex’s first industrial-sized plant to be located in Salaberry-de-Valleyfied, Québec. The agreement is for a period of seven years beginning when the plant reaches a certain capacity, expected to take place in the first quarter of 2017.

“This is a significant step for Argex. It demonstrates confidence in the scalability of our technology and in our ability to partner with world-class leaders in the industry,” Mr. Bonnell said in the release. 

Argex Titanium is currently raising the capital necessary for construction of its first 50,000 tonne per year industrial production module. Once that financing is complete, the company expects to begin production within 18 to 24 months. 

“We think we’re going to get it right very quickly, based on our experience with our pilot plant,” Mr. Bonnell added. 

Argex has about 137 million shares outstanding and it currently trading near its 52-week low of $0.58 a share.

To learn more about Argex Titanium, you can view their initiation research report, research bulletins, analyst commentaries and CEO video interview on their SmallCapPower.com Investor Hub:http://www.smallcappower.com/companies/products/argex-mining-inc

About Argex Titanium:

Argex Titanium Inc. RGX has developed an advanced chemical process for the volume production of high grade titanium dioxide (TiO2) for use in high quality paint, plastics, cosmetics and other applications. The company's unique proprietary process takes relatively inexpensive and plentiful source material from a variety of potential vendors, and produces TiO2 along with other valuable by-products. Argex's process provides a significant cost and environmental advantage over current legacy TiO2 production methods. The company's primary near term goal is to rapidly advance toward a 50,000 tonne per annum production module as a first step in its goal to transform the 5.2 million tonne per annum TiO2 industry.

Disclosure

Ubika Research has received compensation from Argex Titanium to provide analyst research coverage.

Except for the historical information presented herein, matters discussed in this document contain forward-looking statements that are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such statements.

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