IperionX (ASX:IPX) has acquired the assets and intellectual property portfolio of early stage materials innovation company Blacksand Technology.
The purchase of Blacksand’s assets includes a US$6 million payment to exercise the purchase option, plus the establishment of an endowed chair at the University of Utah supporting metallurgy research through a gift of US$1 million payable over three years.
IperionX will pay Blacksand a royalty of 0.5% of net annual sales of titanium powder exceeding US$300 million throughout the life of the patents.
Blacksand previously held commercial rights to the technologies through an exclusive licence agreement with the University of Utah Research Foundation (UURF). This licence is paid-up and royalty free.
Following IperionX’s purchase of Blacksand’s assets, the UURF license will transfer from Blacksand to IperionX, and the UURF will cooperate with IperionX to assign ownership of the intellectual property to IperionX.
To fully extinguish the UURF’s interest in the technologies, IperionX will make several payments including US$750,000 prior to 1 July 2025; $1 million upon IperionX reaching US$200 million in cumulative net sales; and US$3 million upon reaching US$400 million in cumulative net sales.
The acquisition secures IperionX’s exclusive commercial rights to the patents and proprietary technologies, including Green Rutile, Alkaline Roasting Hydrolysis, Hydrogen Assisted Metallothermic Reduction and Hydrogen Sintering and Phase Transformation.
These complementary technologies offer significant advantages over the incumbent Kroll titanium production process – with lower energy consumption, lower capex, faster cycle times, higher product yields and the ability to utilise 100% scrap titanium or upgraded titanium minerals as feedstocks.
IperionX is developing an innovative ‘end-to-end’ American titanium supply chain solution that spans from the production of US titanium minerals, upgrading these minerals to +99% TiO2, to the production of high-performance, lower-cost titanium metal forged parts.
The company says its technologies can produce a large range of high-strength forged titanium alloys, with class-leading sustainability and superior process energy efficiencies when compared to current industry methods.
The technologies provide IperionX with a sustainable competitive advantage and significant value uplift from upgrading raw titanium materials through to finished titanium products when compared to traditional titanium industry supply chains.
IperionX’s proprietary technologies negate the need for titanium metal sponge and ingot, allowing direct manufacturing of higher value titanium products from the billet stage onwards.
The company is now commercialising the technology portfolio at its Titanium Manufacturing Campus in Virginia. In August 2024, IperionX successfully commissioned the new HAMR furnace and delivered the first titanium deoxygenation production run in Virginia.
Write to Adam Orlando at Mining.com.au
Images: IperionX & Blacksand
