June 2024 Quarterly Report
IperionX Limited (IperionX) (Nasdaq | ASX: IPX) is pleased to provide its quarterly report for the period ended June 30, 2024. Highlights during and subsequent to the end of the quarter included:
Virginia Titanium Manufacturing Campus
HAMR furnace commissioning activities to commence
- IperionX received regulatory verifications that allow commissioning activities for the HAMR furnace to commence, with the first full scale HAMR deoxidation production cycle expected to take place at the Titanium Production Facility in Virgina in August
- All major construction works relating to the Titanium Production Facility building, including power electrical, ventilation, and safety systems, have been completed
- Remaining construction and ancillary equipment installation at the Titanium Production Facility is advancing on schedule to support the progressive scale-up of HAMR titanium production
IperionX customer and product development
IperionX and Aperam partnership to advance a circular titanium supply chain
- IperionX and Aperam, through its American entity ELG Utica Alloys, signed an agreement to apply IperionX’s fully circular and sustainable titanium supply chain solution to the consumer electronics sector
- IperionX will use its patented titanium technologies to upcycle up to 12 metric tons of titanium scrap from the consumer electronics sector to manufacture a range of high-performance titanium products
- IperionX will initially upcycle 1 metric ton of titanium scrap into high-grade titanium powder and then manufacture a range of titanium near-net shapes for specific parts, as well as plate, rod and wire products
IperionX and Vegas Fastener to co-produce titanium fasteners for U.S. Army
- IperionX and Vegas Fastener agreed to partner to develop and manufacture titanium alloy fasteners and precision components with IperionX’s advanced titanium products
- Vegas Fastener is a global leader in the development and manufacturing of high-performance fasteners and custom machined components, serving a diverse array of customers in the defense, marine, power generation, oil gas, nuclear, chemical, and water infrastructure sectors
- IperionX and Vegas Fastener’s commercial focus is on developing and manufacturing titanium alloy fasteners and precision components for the U.S. Army Ground Vehicle Systems Center
IperionX partners with United Stars for U.S. titanium manufacturing
- IperionX partnered with United Stars for the potential supply of IperionX’s high-performance, low cost and sustainable titanium products
- United Stars’ companies are leading American suppliers of industrial components including stainless steel tubing, precision gears, shafts, and complex assemblies, as well as tooling and components for defense, aerospace and commercial applications
- The United Stars and IperionX partnership will focus on the defense and advanced technology sectors for vehicle drivetrains, robotic motors and wind turbines, that require lightweight, strong, compact and corrosion resistant performance
IperionX Titan Critical Minerals Project
Strategic offtake partners - Multiple companies in advanced due diligence
- Continued significant commercial interest in Titan’s titanium, rare earth and zircon critical minerals
- A major Japanese conglomerate conducting due diligence to advance potential sales offtake and development financing
- IperionX’s patented low-carbon “Green RutileTM” mineral enrichment technology has been successfully proven at a bench scale, with pilot scale production design now underway for completion in 2024
IperionX corporate activities
Completion of A$50 million placement
- IperionX completed a placement of 26.2 million new fully paid ordinary shares at an issue price of A$1.91 per share to raise gross proceeds of A$50 million (~US$33 million)
- Proceeds will be used to scale titanium manufacturing capacity at its Virginia campus, including new equipment at the Advanced Manufacturing Center, final design, and engineering studies to increase titanium production capacity to ~2,000 metric tons per annum at the Titanium Production Facility, and for general working capital and corporate purposes
Balance sheet
- Pro-forma cash of US$37.9 million, including June 30, 2024 cash of US$33.2 million plus ~US$4.7 million from the second tranche of the placement, received after quarter’s end
- IperionX received a further US$0.9 million from the US$12.7 million DPA Title III funding during the quarter to fund Phase I of the Virginia Titanium Production Facility
- A total of US$4.7 million in DPA Title III funding has been received to June 30, 2024, with US$8.0 million still available to be drawn upon
U.S. government funding
- IperionX continues to progress the US$11.5 million equipment finance application with EXIM Bank, advancing through major EXIM Transaction Review Committee stage gates
- The U.S. government indicated it will invest additional grant funds in re-shoring a secure domestic titanium supply chain (see Table 1). IperionX is well positioned to apply for these additional funds to scale titanium production and manufacturing capacity
- During the quarter, IperionX made new submissions for U.S. Government funding, with the outcome of the submissions likely to be determined in 2024
For further information and enquiries please contact:
+1 704 461 8000
VIRGINIA TITANIUM MANUFACTURING CAMPUS
HAMR furnace commissioning activities to commence
IperionX received regulatory verifications that allow commissioning activities for the Hydrogen Assisted Metallothermic Reduction (“HAMR”) furnace to commence, with the first full scale HAMR deoxidation production cycle expected to take place at the Titanium Production Facility in Virgina in August.
All major construction works relating to the Titanium Production Facility building, including power electrical, ventilation, and safety systems, have been completed, and as a result IperionX expects to receive its Certificate of Occupancy from local authorities in the coming weeks.
Representatives from the HAMR furnace manufacturer are onsite in Virginia commencing Site Acceptance Testing ahead of the first full scale HAMR production cycle, including final electrical, safety and controls testing, ahead of electrical energization. Remaining construction and ancillary equipment installation at the Titanium Production Facility is advancing on schedule to support the progressive scale-up of HAMR titanium production.
IperionX’s large-scale, advanced titanium furnace uses patented technologies, to produce sustainable, high-quality and high-strength titanium metal products at commercial scale. The HAMR furnace underpins significant competitive advantages such as lower operating temperatures, higher efficiencies, shorter production cycles, and high levels of product quality.
The significant demand for a low cost, sustainable and secure source of titanium is becoming increasingly apparent, with growth in titanium usage for applications such as consumer electronics and renewable energy not being met with a new supply of primary titanium outside of China.
The commissioning of IperionX’s Virginia Titanium Manufacturing Campus, including both the Titanium Production Facility and the Advanced Manufacturing Center, will be a pivotal step in addressing this demand, and will re-shore an end-to-end titanium supply chain in the U.S., capable of manufacturing high-performance and low-cost titanium products for advanced U.S. industries.
Figure 1: IperionX’s HAMR furnace deck, with site acceptance testing underway at the Titanium Production Facility
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ABOUT IPERIONX
IperionX aims to be the leading American titanium metal and critical materials company – using patented metal technologies to produce high performance titanium alloys, from titanium minerals or scrap titanium, at lower energy, cost and carbon emissions.
Our Titan critical minerals project is the largest JORC-compliant mineral resource of titanium, rare earth and zircon minerals sands in the U.S.A.
IperionX’s titanium metal and critical minerals are essential for advanced U.S. industries including space, aerospace, defense, consumer electronics, hydrogen, electric vehicles and additive manufacturing.
This announcement has been authorized for release by the CEO Managing Director
Forward Looking Statements
Information included in this release constitutes forward-looking statements. Often, but not always, forward looking statements can generally be identified by the use of forward-looking words such as “may”, “will”, “expect”, “intend”, “plan”, “estimate”, “anticipate”, “continue”, and “guidance”, or other similar words and may include, without limitation, statements regarding the timing of any Nasdaq listing, plans, strategies and objectives of management, anticipated production or construction commencement dates and expected costs or production outputs.
Forward looking statements inherently involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the Company’s actual results, performance, and achievements to differ materially from any future results, performance, or achievements. Relevant factors may include, but are not limited to, changes in commodity prices, foreign exchange fluctuations and general economic conditions, increased costs and demand for production inputs, the speculative nature of exploration and project development, including the risks of obtaining necessary licenses and permits and diminishing quantities or grades of reserves, political and social risks, changes to the regulatory framework within which the Company operates or may in the future operate, environmental conditions including extreme weather conditions, recruitment and retention of personnel, industrial relations issues and litigation, as well as other uncertainties and risks summarized in filings made by the Company from time to time with the Australian Securities Exchange and in the Form 20-F filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Forward looking statements are based on the Company and its management’s assumptions relating to the financial, market, regulatory and other relevant environments that will exist and affect the Company’s business and operations in the future. The Company does not give any assurance that the assumptions on which forward looking statements are based will prove to be correct, or that the Company’s business or operations will not be affected in any material manner by these or other factors not foreseen or foreseeable by the Company or management or beyond the Company’s control.
There may be other factors that could cause actual results, performance, achievements, or events not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended, and many events are beyond the reasonable control of the Company. Accordingly, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward looking statements. Forward looking statements in these materials speak only at the date of issue. Except as required by applicable law or stock exchange listing rules, the Company does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any of the forward-looking statements or to advise of any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based.
Competent Persons Statement
The information in this announcement that relates to Exploration Results and Mineral Resources is extracted from IperionX’s ASX Announcement dated October 6, 2021 (“Original ASX Announcement”) which is available to view at IperionX’s website at www.iperionx.com. IperionX confirms that a) it is not aware of any new information or data that materially affects the information included in the Original ASX Announcement; b) all material assumptions and technical parameters underpinning the Mineral Resource Estimate included in the Original ASX Announcement continue to apply and have not materially changed; and c) the form and context in which the relevant Competent Persons’ findings are presented in this report have not been materially changed from the Original ASX Announcement.
Link to the full-length original news: https://cdn-api.markitdigital.com/apiman-gateway/ASX/asx-research/1.0/file/2924-02831360-6A1217245&v=70bc033a22188bdfefb8a0b8ad3c24897ef2837d
