Argex Titanium in talks to finance industrial-sized titanium plant in Quebec

Argex Titanium (TSE:RGX) is looking to begin production from its industrial-sized titanium dioxide plant next year, and said that financing discussions are now underway. 

The company gave an update when it reported its financial results for the year that ended December 31, 2013 in a statement last night, revealing cash, short-term investments and other investments of $6.7 million at year-end and no debt. 

It said it generated cash from financing activities of $11.8 million, including two private placements as well as the exercise of warrants and options. It spent a total of $9.6 million of cash on operating activities in 2013, which included $3.1 million for its technical and environmental studies. 

“Argex has completed our work on the comprehensive third-party engineering report associated with our first proposed TiO2 production facility in Valleyfield, Quebec,” said president and CEO Roy Bonnell in the release.

“We are working toward securing financing for this project and are in active discussions with  potential lenders and investors.”

The Canadian junior said late in 2013 that it had begun preliminary engineering work with equipment vendors for the items with the longest lead time for its industrial-sized plant in Valleyfield, Quebec. The move marked the first step in the equipment ordering process for the plant, which is expected to be commissioned in 2015. 

Argex has been busy preparing for the transformational event, after selling off nearly the entire available production from the first module of its proposed plant last October, when it signed a letter of intent with one of the world’s largest chemical distribution companies.

The Quebec-based company has a proprietary mineral extraction process that allows it to produce high purity, or 99.8% pure, pigment-grade titanium dioxide directly from run-of-mine material at its deposits. 

Titanium dioxide is an inorganic substance characterized by brightness and very high refractive index, making it an ideal pigment in paints, plastics and paper. 

Argex is boasting a net present value of almost $1 billion on a pre-tax basis from the Valleyfield project, according to a feasibility study released in last year’s fourth quarter. Each one of the company’s modules is expected to have a maximum capacity of 50,000 tonnes per year of titanium dioxide pigment production. 

The company said capital expenditures at the Valleyfield plant last year amounted to $0.8 million, and reported a net loss of $15.7 million, or 13 cents per share, including a $4.7 million impairment charge tied to Argex’s iron ore property.

So far this year, Argex’s stock has surged more than 18%, closing Monday at 91 cents in Toronto.