2-year-old North Carolina mining company plans $82 million plant in Halifax

A North Carolina minerals company with roots in Australia plans to invest $82.1 million in Halifax County to refine titanium metal powder and demonstrate its use in 3D manufacturing, a facility that it says it will eventually employ 108 people.

Two years IperionX Limitedformerly known as Hyperion Metals Limited, will receive state support for the project.

Governor Glenn Youngkin approved a $300,000 grant from the Commonwealth’s Opportunity Fund to help the county with the project, while the Virginia Tobacco Region Revitalization Commission is providing an additional $573,000.

The company is also eligible to receive state support from the Virginia Enterprise Zone Program and the Virginia Jobs Investment Program.

IperionX plans to develop the project in two phases, with an initial investment of $12.5 million for plant and equipment with an expansion of $69.6 million over three years.

The Company owns a 100% interest in over 6,000 acres of heavy mineral sands properties in Tennessee.

Its latest annual financial report filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission shows it spent $7.3 million exploring and appraising these properties for the year ended June 30, $3.1 million additional administrative costs and $3.2 million in business development costs.

In addition, it granted securities, options and subordinate rights to officers, employees, consultants and other key advisors worth $8.3 million.

Although it reported no revenue, the company raised $19.4 million through equity sales and other financing deals in its 2022 fiscal year and $5.8 million in the last year. That year, he lost $13.2 million.

“The new Halifax County operation will represent the first titanium metal powder plant in the United States using 100% recycled titanium scrap as a raw material, putting Virginia on the map for supplying a critical material that is essential for our cutting-edge industries,” Youngkin said during a project announcement ceremony.

“We look forward to supporting this forward-thinking company which will develop a new titanium supply chain right here in the Commonwealth,” he added.

Anastasios Arima, President and CEO of IperionX, said the facility marks “a critical step in advancing IperionX’s ambition to relocate an all-American source of titanium metal.”

He was a founder and director of Piedmont Lithium Limited, another development-stage mineral processing company based in North Carolina, focused on the production of lithium hydroxide for the electric vehicle and battery market.

Piedmont’s most recent financial report shows no revenue from any transactions and a net loss of $18.7 million for the six months ended June 30.

IperionX will initially occupy the 50,000 square foot Halifax Shell building in the Southern Virginia Technology Park and plans to expand the facility to 100,000 square feet in the coming years. It will use renewable energy sources to produce titanium.

The company is listed on the Australian Stock Exchange and began trading on Nasdaq in June 2022. The company’s funders include Fidelity Management and Research, Fidelity International and B. Riley Principal Investments.

Virginia successfully competed with North Carolina, South Carolina and West Virginia for the draft.