Nasdaq and Australian-listed IperionX will supply British aerospace components leader GKN Aerospace with titanium plate test parts made using its proprietary titanium powder and powder metallurgy production methods.
IperionX said the “collaboration” with GKN Aerospace built on a successful testing and validation of IperionX recycled titanium powder made from GKN scrap titanium feedstocks.
“This latest commercial partnership focuses on the manufacturing of high-performance titanium plate for testing by GKN Aerospace, which may also form part of further collaboration efforts between GKN Aerospace and IperionX – including projects linked to the US Department of Defense,” IperionX said.
“To deliver titanium components with higher performance and durability, IperionX will employ its patented hydrogen sintering and phase transformation technologies, a cutting-edge process to enhance the microstructure of titanium to deliver strength and fatigue properties that are comparable to wrought titanium alloys.”
The US imports more than 95% of primary domestic titanium metal, prized for its high strength-to-weight ratio and its resistance to high temperatures and corrosion.
IperionX has the permitted Titan rare earths and heavy minerals project in west Tennessee, said to host the largest known titanium, rare earth and zircon JORC compliant mineral resource in the US. It is also looking at sources of scrap titanium.
A June 2022 scoping study put a circa-US$240 million development cost on a 25-year mining and processing operation at Titan.
IperionX has a current market value around US$186 million.
