During the quarter, IperionX took advantage of its increased powder production to address product development and customer orders for high-value, near-net-shape titanium metal products manufactured using powder
metallurgy and HSPT. To meet the growing customer demand for these parts, IperionX commissioned a new 100-ton uniaxial hydraulic powder metallurgy press and placed orders for additional critical equipment that will further increase capacity
for pressing and HSPT in 2025.
IperionX made significant progress towards optimizing and developing the HAMR process, identifying improvements that increase efficiency, eliminate process steps and reduce capital intensity.
IperionX reconfigured the Salt Lake City Industrial Pilot Facility to focus on producing and recycling new alloys using HAMR and HSPT, including alloys containing zirconium and refractory metals such as niobium
and tantalum.
IperionX continued to advance its ARH and Green Rutile technologies, with the aim to produce low-cost, US- sourced titanium feedstocks with minerals from IperionX’s Titan Critical Minerals Project.
IperionX successfully completed the acquisition of the intellectual property comprising the titanium technology portfolio for a final payment of US$6 million, securing its exclusive commercial rights to the
breakthrough technologies. Combined, these complementary technologies offer transformative advantages over the traditional Kroll process, including lower energy consumption, lower capital intensity, faster production cycles, higher yields and
the ability to use either 100% recycled titanium scrap or titanium minerals as feedstock.
Together, these technologies, when combined with IperionX’s 100% owned and permitted Titan Mineral Project in Tennessee, make IperionX the only company in the U.S. that can offer a secure and uninterruptible
mineral to metal titanium supply chain for national security and industry.
Figure 4: IperionX titanium (& other reactive metal) technologies map.
The core technologies that enable an end-to-end titanium metal solution can be broadly categorized as:
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Metal Forging Technologies (HSPT): HSPT is a ground-breaking sintering process that allows for the manufacturing of high-quality titanium metal products with fine and ultra fine
microstructures that are equivalent or better than traditional mill products: a feature that has previously been impossible with the sintering of titanium metal powders. A derivative technology of HSPT, the THRM™ process, can be
applied to third-party manufactured titanium products to impart better properties. The combination of high-quality and low-cost HAMR angular powders together with HSPT sintering of these powders unlocks potential for high-quality
titanium products via simple, high-volume and low-cost powder metallurgy pressing processes that can manufacture near-net-shapes and traditional mill products with an order of magnitude improvement on yields over the traditional
Kroll/Ingot supply chain.
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CUSTOMER AND PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
IperionX has built a large pipeline of potential customers with whom the Company is actively undertaking assessments, prototyping and testing of titanium metal
products across a range of sectors including consumer electronics, automotive, green hydrogen, luxury goods, aerospace and defense. Progress achieved during the quarter at the Titanium Manufacturing Campus in Virginia led to a significant
increase in prototyping and product validation work, with strong potential to convert prototyping work to sales contracts in the coming months.
In addition to new and existing customer focus, IperionX is exploring growing demand from industries that require precision-machined components. These industries
include luxury goods and fasteners, which supply both the industrial and military sectors. IperionX is assessing additional strategies for developing in-house capability to meet these needs.
U.S. GOVERNMENT ACTIVITIES
The U.S. government requested information and proposals for providing additional government funding to re-shore a secure, low-cost and sustainable domestic titanium
supply chain. These opportunities are focused on titanium supply chains that utilize both scrap titanium and U.S. titanium minerals as feedstocks. IperionX believes it is well-positioned to qualify for these additional U.S. government
funding opportunities to scale domestic titanium production and manufacturing capacity.
IperionX continues to track previously submitted applications for U.S. government funding, with the potential for accelerated outcomes under the new administration.
Further, IperionX continues to progress its equipment finance application with EXIM Bank, advancing further through major EXIM milestones.
A select list of U.S. government funding opportunities is shown below:
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Agency
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Program
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Total program funding available
(2024-2025)1
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U.S. Department of Defense
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IBAS – Casting & Forgings Infrastructure Investments
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~US$80m
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U.S. Department of Defense
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DPA – Ukraine Supplemental Bill Funding for Strategic and Critical Materials
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US$140m remains, as of March 2024
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U.S. Department of Defense
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DPA Title III – Casting & Forgings Initiative
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~US$80m
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U.S. Department of Defense
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SBIR Phase III
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Up to US$50-100M in funding
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Table 1: U.S. government funding opportunities.
During the quarter, Lieutenant General Ross Coffman (ret) joined as IperionX Defense Advisor, providing strategic direction on titanium product development for the
U.S. Army and other defense agencies.
1 Estimates of total funds available under each program based upon Department of Defense FY25 budget request materials released in March 2024, and other U.S. government guidance. IperionX’s
potential access to these funding programs is subject to successful application, award and contract under each program.
TITAN CRITICAL MINERALS PROJECT
Strategic & offtake partners - multiple companies in advanced due diligence
IperionX continues to receive strong commercial interest in the Titan Project’s critical minerals, including titanium, rare earths and zircon. A major Japanese
conglomerate completed metallurgical test work to advance potential sales offtake and development financing. A range of other commercial opportunities for potential offtake/investment at the Titan Project have
also arisen, paving the way for potential offtake agreements and development financing.
A number of other partnering options, including the U.S. government, remain as potential sources of development finance for the Titan Project, including funding under a proposal submitted to co-fund the Titan
Project Pre-Feasibility and/or Feasibility Study, and to co-fund the scale-up of IperionX’s mineral enrichment technologies and the Virginia Titanium Manufacturing Campus.
BALANCE SHEET AND CORPORATE
Completion of $66 million placement
IperionX completed a placement of 31.25 million new fully paid ordinary shares at an issue price of A$3.20 per share to raise gross proceeds of approximately $66 million (A$100 million). Proceeds from the
placement will be applied to Virginia titanium production campus expansions (including studies, equipment and working capital), ongoing Virginia development and operations, acquisition of intellectual property, and for general working
capital and corporate purposes.
Strong Financial Position
As of December 31, 2024, IperionX held US$77.1 million in cash with an additional US$4.1 million available under the DPA Title III program, which places the Company in a strong financial position to ramp-up
and optimize the initial production line and further scale production at the Titanium Manufacturing Campus.
IperionX is in a strong financial position as it rapidly ramps up operations in Virginia ahead of its first major customer production requirements being met by
mid-2025, and will take a prudent approach to future expansion activities, informed by data and optimization test work occurring over the coming months.
ASX - ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Mining properties – Titan Critical Minerals Project
The Titan Project is prospective for critical mineral sands including titanium minerals, rare earth minerals, high grade silica sand and
zircon minerals. As of December 31, 2024, the Titan Project comprised approximately 10,702 acres of surface and associated mineral rights in Tennessee, of which approximately 1,486 acres are owned by IperionX, approximately 338 acres are
subject to long-term lease by IperionX, and approximately 8,878 acres are subject to exclusive option agreements with IperionX. These exclusive option agreements, upon exercise, allow IperionX to lease or, in some cases, purchase the
surface property and associated mineral rights.
During the quarter approximately 96 acres of optioned properties were exercised and converted into long term leases, and approximately 352 acres of optioned properties were relinquished due to low
prospectivity.
Mining exploration expenditures
During the quarter, the following payments were made for mining exploration activities:
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US$000
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Land consultants
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20
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Sustainability
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20
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Community relations
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2
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Field supplies, equipment rental, vehicles, travel and other
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19
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Total as reported in Appendix 5B
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61
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Table 3: Mining exploration expenditures
During the quarter, IperionX made no payments in relation to mining development or production activities.
Related party payments
During the quarter, IperionX made payments of US$297,000 to related parties and their associates. These payments relate to executive directors’ remuneration, non-executive directors’ fees, employer 401(k)
contributions, and superannuation contributions.
ABOUT IPERIONX
IperionX aims to be the leading American titanium metal and critical materials company – using patented and proprietary 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.
IperionX’s titanium metal and critical minerals are essential for advanced U.S. industries including aerospace, defense, consumer electronics, hydrogen, electric vehicles and additive
manufacturing.
This announcement has been authorized for release by the CEO & Managing Director.
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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 is based on information compiled and/or reviewed by Mr. Adam Karst, P.G. Mr. Karst is a consultant to IperionX. Mr. Karst is a Registered Member of the Society of Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration
(SME) which is a Recognized Overseas Professional Organization (ROPO) as well as a Professional Geologist in the state of Tennessee. Mr. Karst has sufficient experience which is relevant to the style and type of mineralization
present at the Titan Project area and to the activity that he is undertaking to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the 2012 edition of the “Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and
Ore Reserves” (the 2012 JORC Code). Mr. Karst consents to the inclusion in this report of the matters based on this information in the form and context in which it appears.
The information in this announcement that relates to 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.
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