IperionX Drives Towards Commercial Scale Titanium Metal Production

• IperionX’s HAMR titanium furnace, the foundation asset to produce low-cost titanium, has completed final mechanical assembly and successfully passed factory acceptance tests with the IPX technical team
  
  
  
  

• This advanced HAMR titanium industrial furnace is now being transported to the U.S. with anticipated delivery to the Titanium Manufacturing Campus during the first quarter of 2024
  
  
  
  

• Installation and commissioning of the HAMR titanium furnace is expected during the second quarter, before producing first titanium metal in mid-year 2024
  
  
  
  

• Construction and internal fit-out of the Titanium Manufacturing Campus is advancing to schedule
  
  
  
  

• IperionX has received the first US$2.4 million payment from the US$12.7 million Department of Defense DPA Title III grant to fund Phase I ramp-up of the Virginia Titanium Production Facility

IperionX Limited (NASDAQ: IPX, ASX: IPX) is pleased to announce significant progress in advancing its commercial-scale titanium metal manufacturing capabilities at IperionX’s Titanium Manufacturing Campus in Virginia, comprising the Titanium Production Facility and the Advanced Manufacturing Center.

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Figure 1: IperionX’s HAMR Furnace, the heart of the Titanium Production Facility(Photo: Business Wire)

Commercial Scale HAMR Titanium Furnace

The HAMR titanium furnace has completed final mechanical assembly and successfully passed factory acceptance testing overseen by the IperionX technical team. The furnace is currently being transported from the European manufacturer to the Titanium Manufacturing Campus in Virginia. This large-scale titanium furnace is expected to be installed within the Titanium Production Facility during the second quarter, paving the way for the production of titanium metal in mid-2024.

A critical IperionX production asset, this large-scale, industrial titanium furnace leverages patented company technologies, such as HAMR¹ and HSPT², to produce sustainable, high-quality and high-strength titanium metal products at commercial scale. This first production milestone will combine leading innovation and sustainability to set new industry standards in titanium metal production.

Importantly, the application of this conventional furnace technology for titanium production has been de-risked via a comprehensive furnace test work program. In 2023, the IperionX technical team successfully completed two full-scale titanium production test runs that surpassed the core target production parameters for the Titanium Production Facility.

Construction Progress - Titanium Production Facility, Virginia

Construction of the Titanium Production Facility is advancing to schedule, with the HAMR titanium furnace expected to be commissioned and to produce first titanium metal in mid-2024.

Construction Progress – Advanced Manufacturing Center, Virginia

Construction of the Advanced Manufacturing Center is on-schedule and anticipated to be commissioned during the second quarter of 2024. This advanced manufacturing unit will utilize angular and spherical titanium powders from the Titanium Production Facility to manufacture a wide range of low-cost and high-performance titanium products using powder metallurgy, HSPT forging and additive manufacturing/3D printing. It will also leverage CNC machining, post-processing equipment and advanced R&D laboratories to support customer and government engagement.

Anastasios (Taso) Arima, IperionX CEO said:

“IperionX is nearing an important milestone designed to revitalize the U.S. titanium supply chain with a unique end-to-end solution that spans from recycled scrap titanium to high-performance forged titanium products.

Our patented titanium technologies can produce a wide range of high-performance titanium products - including angular and spherical titanium powders, semi-finished titanium products, near-net titanium shape products and additively manufactured titanium components - with superior energy efficiency, lower costs, and lower environmental impacts.

We have a strong pipeline of potential U.S. government funding and incentive programs designed to re-shore and secure critical mineral and metal supply chains. The commissioning of our Virginia Titanium Manufacturing Campus will be a pivotal step forward, positioning IperionX with an innovative end-to-end titanium supply chain capable of manufacturing high-performance and low-cost titanium products for advanced American industries.”

About IperionX

IperionX aims to become a 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 one of the largest mineral resources of titanium, rare earth and zircon minerals sands in the United States.

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.

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 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, the Company’s ability to comply with the relevant contractual terms to access the technologies, commercially scale its closed-loop titanium production processes, or protect its intellectual property rights, 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.

Forward looking statements are based on the Company and its management’s good faith 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.

Although the Company attempts and has attempted to identify factors that would cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those disclosed in forward looking statements, 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. Subject to any continuing obligations under applicable law or any relevant stock exchange listing rules, in providing this information 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.

Full details and appendices relating to the announcement can be found here.

¹ HAMR: Hydrogen Assisted Metallothermic Reduction

² HSPT: Hydrogen Sintering and Phase Transformation

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