Guangxi Hangtai Lays Foundation for Zirconium and Titanium Processing Project in Qinzhou

【SMM Titanium Flash】Recently, Amaero, a producer of spherical titanium alloy and refractory metal powders, announced that it has postponed its originally planned IPO on Nasdaq due to unfavorable market conditions. The company had intended to raise approximately $52.6 million, and the announcement of the postponement came just two days after the filing, reflecting the current cautious attitude of the US stock market towards small and medium-sized advanced manufacturing IPOs. The company emphasized that its existing expansion plans remain unaffected, and the fourth EIGA atomization system is still scheduled to be put into production in June 2027, at which point the annual production capacity will increase from 680 tons to 920 tons. In the first half of fiscal year 2026, revenue reached approximately $7.4 million, representing a more than six-fold increase year-on-year, but the net loss widened to $13.4 million. This failed IPO highlights the capitalization pressure faced by the titanium powder additive manufacturing sector amid high demand growth and profit pressure.

【SMM Titanium Flash】 On September 24th, the foundation stone for the 200,000-ton annual production green factory of Longbai Asia New Materials, a subsidiary of Longbai Group, was laid in Kedah, Malaysia. With a total investment of 1 billion ringgit, the project is expected to achieve an annual production capacity of 300,000 tons upon full completion. It serves as an important strategic fulcrum for Longbai's layout in Southeast Asia and its expansion into the global market. During the same period, the biomass energy project supporting China Gas was initiated, with plans to commence operations in early 2027, providing green steam and electricity for the factory. With the implementation of these projects, Longbai's ability to ensure the supply of titanium dioxide to the Southeast Asian and Oceanian markets nearby is expected to be further enhanced.

[SMM Titanium Flash] Empire Metals has successfully produced an uncoated rutile titanium-dioxide pigment from concentrates generated from the in-situ weathered ore at its Pitfield Titanium Project in Western Australia. The company says X-ray diffraction confirmed the TiO₂ was present as rutile. Chemical analysis initially produced 97.6% TiO₂, with sulphur accounting for much of the impurity; correcting for that anomaly gives a calculated grade of about 99.2% TiO₂. The development moves Pitfield beyond simply demonstrating titanium mineralisation toward producing a higher-value titanium product. Empire is now working on optimisation and surface coating to produce a rutile pigment suitable for architectural coatings. The company says it is also assessing titanium-metal feedstock applications. These remain laboratory and product-development results, not commercial-scale production.