Soon to be Lithium producer Neometals has added another string to its bow by signing a binding term sheet to secure the exclusive global rights to a proprietary hydrometallurgical technology.
The process technology assists with the low cost production of Titanium Dioxide and the company believes it will be instrumental in securing the viability of its massive Barrambie Titanium project in the north eastern Goldfields of WA.
A recent feasibility study confirmed the technical nature of the process and pointed to a unique operating cost reduction in the production of Titanium Dioxide.
The company already has a restricted non-exclusive license to use the patent pending process for its Barrambie Titanium project however this latest deal gives Neometals the right to market the process around the world on an exclusive basis.
The company says that the energy efficient recovery and regeneration of hydrochloric acid with minimal effluent is environmentally sustainable and offers a discernable advantage over conventional processing flow sheets.
It also has application in the recovery of a broad range of other metal oxides apart from Titanium from chloride leach solutions.
Under the terms of the deal Neometals will be responsible for the commercialisation of the technology and revenues will be split 25:75 between Neometals and the owner of the technology.
Neometals will make an upfront payment of $250 000 to secure the technology which will be repaid from future royalty payments.
In addition to using the technology for the Barrambie project the company will look to earn royalty income by sub-licensing the technology to third parties.
According to Neometals Pre-Feasibility study earlier this year, the Barrambie Titanium project should have a mine life of nearly 20 years, will produce AUD$2.4b in net cash flows over that time and will cost $549m to set up.
The company expects the initial capital to be paid back within 3.9 years showing an ROI of around 21%.
