White Mountain Titanium has signed the first off take agreement to supply natural rutile concentrate from its Cerro Blanco project in northern Chile.
The partner is a major global pigment producer and the agreement is another significant milestone for White Mountain Titanium.
Based on the contract, White Mountain Titanium will supply 25,000 t of materials per year to the pigment producer. The delivery is scheduled to start before September 2014 and continue till December 2016. Once the delivery is completed, the contract may be extended by mutual agreement.
President and CEO of White Mountain Titanium, Mike Kurtanjek commented that this off take agreement is important for the company’s growth. The company’s product is accepted in the market, which is at a time of robust rutile prices and feedstock supply shortages. The company is also discussing with producers of other titanium pigments and metals and welding rods for supplying all the three grades of rutile concentrates from the Cerro Blanco property.
The Cerro Blanco property includes five mining exploration concessions and 33 mining exploitation concessions. The main objectives of White Mountain Titanium are to upgrade the Cerro Blanco property and to achieve off-take contracts for the rutile concentrate. The company also continues to explore the feasibility of manufacturing a feldspar co-product, which could have potential applications in the ceramics and glass sectors.