NEAR TERM PRODUCER - TiO2

Titanium dioxide – prices are expected to double by 2015

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ARGEX Titanium Inc Profile

Argex Mining Inc., Montréal, Québec; TSX: RGX, has recently transitioned from a mining exploration company to a near-term producer of commodities that the world needs:

Titanium Dioxide (TiO2), Iron and Vanadium Pentoxide.

Titanium dioxide (TiO2) is an inorganic substance that is derived primarily from heavy mineral sands containing Rutile or Ilmenite ores.

TiO2 has one of the highest refractive indices (2.61 for Rutile crystals), making it the primary pigment for producing white colour in paints, plastics and paper.

La Blache Property - North shore of the St. Lawrence River.

The La Blache Fe-Ti-V property is located in the Manicouagan region in the Province of Quebec, approximately 120 km northwest of the city of Baie-Comeau on the north shore of the St. Lawrence River.

The property is centered on the coordinates 50°03′N and 69°38′W and composed of one block of 73 contiguous claims covering an area of 40.3 km2. The property covers three massive titaniferous magnetite lenses named Hervieux West, Hervieux East and Lac Schmoo which contains significant iron, titanium and vanadium mineralisation.

The massive magnetite lenses are hosted in intrusive lithologies of the La Blache Anorthosite Complex.

New NI 43-101 Compliant Mineral Resource Estimate

In June 2011, Argex completed a National Instrument 43-101-compliant Mineral Resource Estimate (“MRE”) on its La Blache Property.

This MRE includes 30,888,000 tonnes in the measured and indicated categories, with in situ grades of 18.78% TiO2 (titanium dioxide), 63.29% Fe2O3 (iron oxide) and 0.45% V2O5 (vanadium pentoxide).

This MRE also includes 13,013,000 tonnes in the inferred category, with in situ grades of 18.67% TiO2, 63.06% Fe2O3 and 0.43% V2O5. Argex has only drilled 2 of the 3 known lenses on its La Blache deposit.

In 2010, a 20,934-metre drilling campaign was conducted at West Hervieux and East Hervieux; there was no drilling at Schmoo Lake. As per Met-Chem Canada, who authored this Technical Report, both deposits are open at depth.

Preliminary Economic Assessment

The La Blache PEA study includes the following highlights:

  • IRR (Pre-Tax): 32%;
  • NPV: $2.2 billion (using an 8% discount rate);
  • Payback period of 7 years - assuming a staged, modular plant construction;
  • Total operating cost (net of by-products) of $586 per tonne of TiO2 (averaged over the life of the mine);
  • Price per tonne of TiO2 (trailing 3 year average): $2,846 ($US/tonne);
  • Capital costs: $801 million;
  • Timeline: 25 years;
  • Life of mine: 25+ years of mineral resources (in all categories);
  • Production profile: 195,000 tonnes of TiO2 at capacity

With a primary goal of advancing rapidly towards production, Argex has adopted a simple and low risk strategy for the scale-up of its proprietary process that allows it to produce high purity TiO2 directly from its 100% owned deposit.

The process is running continuously at the company’s mini-plant in Mississauga, Ontario. The closed-loop process is environmentally friendly and produces minimal inert tailings.

Experienced Management Team

Argex has an experienced and diversified management team and board of directors. The Company’s principals have experience in geology, metallurgy, plant operations, finance and law. All of these elements will be necessary in order to lead the Company on the path towards production. The Argex team has experience on the North Shore of Quebec, where the La Blache deposit is located, as well as internationally.

The TiO2 Market

Argex’s La Blache project is coming to fruition at a very opportune time. Most of the value at the La Blache deposit is in the TiO2. Based on Argex’s research, the TiO2 market is presently characterized by increasing demand, but not increasing supply. This has been confirmed to us by end users of TiO2 whom we have met.

Consequently, prices have increased in the past couple of years and are projected to double by 2015.

This coincides with the Company’s timeline for initial production of TiO2 from La Blache.

Last changed at 12-Nov-2014 03:26PM by AGORACOM