argex titanium inc. investor presentation
DESCRIPTION
Argex Titanium Inc. (RGX:TSX, ARGEF:OTC) has recently transitioned from a mining exploration company to a near-term producer of commodities that the world needs: Titanium Dioxide, Iron and Vanadium Pentoxide. With a primary goal of advancing rapidly towards production, Argex has adopted a simple and low risk strategy for the scale-up of its proprietary process that allows it to produce high purity TiO2 directly from its 100% owned deposit. Additionally, the Company owns 100% of the Mouchalagane property, which is a large Labrador Trough iron ore property that represents further potential upside for the Argex shareholders.TRANSCRIPT
April 2015
TSX:RGX
TSX:RGX
The informa,on presented contains “forward-‐looking statements”, within the meaning of the United States Private Securi,es Li,ga,on Reform Act of 1995, and “forward‑looking informa,on” under similar Canadian legisla,on, concerning the business, opera,ons and financial performance and condi,on of Argex Titanium Inc. (“Argex” or the “Company”). Forward-‐looking statements and forward‑looking informa,on include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to es,mated produc,on, the ,ming and amount of es,mated future produc,on; costs of produc,on; capital expenditures; success of explora,on ac,vi,es; permiPng ,me lines and permiPng ; environmental risks; unan,cipated reclama,on expenses; ,tle disputes or claims; li,ga,on liabili,es; and limita,ons on insurance coverage. Generally, forward-‐looking statements and forward‑looking informa,on can be iden,fied by the use of forward-‐looking terminology such as “plans”, “expects” or “does not expect”, “is expected”, “budget”, “scheduled”, “es,mates”, “forecasts”, “intends”, “an,cipates” or “does not an,cipate”, or “believes”, or varia,ons of such words and phrases or state that certain ac,ons, events or results “may”, “could”, “would”, “might” or “will be taken”, “occur” or “be achieved”. Forward-‐looking statements and forward‑looking informa,on are based on the opinions and es,mates of management as of the date such statements are made, and they are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertain,es and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of ac,vity, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-‐looking statements or forward‑looking informa,on. Although management of the Company has aTempted to iden,fy important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-‐looking statements or forward‑looking informa,on, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as an,cipated, es,mated or intended. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those an,cipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-‐looking statements and forward‑looking informa,on. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-‐looking statements or forward‑looking informa,on that are incorporated by reference herein, except in accordance with applicable securi,es laws.
Argex considers certain financial measures in evalua,ng its opera,ng results and for financial and opera,onal decision-‐making purposes. Financial measures not standardized under IFRS used by the Corpora,on, in this regard, such as EBITDA referenced herein, are not calculated in accordance with or recognized by IFRS. EBITDA should not be considered as an alterna,ve to net income in measuring Argex’s future performance, nor should it be used as a measure of future cash flow. EBITDA is calculated as net earnings before interest, income taxes, deprecia,on and amor,za,on (“reconciling items”). The Company is currently unable to provide a reconcilia,on of EBITDA to projected net income or loss as the amounts of the reconciling items, and in par,cular interest costs, are currently ines,mable. The Corpora,on’s method of calcula,ng non-‐IFRS financial measures may differ from the methods used by other companies and, as a result, the non-‐IFRS financial measures presented above may not be comparable to other similarly ,tled measures disclosed by other companies.
Forward-‐Looking Statements
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TSX:RGX
§ Next genera+on producer of pigment grade +tanium dioxide (TiO2)
§ Patented solvent extrac+on approach supported by 3 years of pilot plant opera+on
§ Significantly lower cost and environmental footprint versus tradi+onal methods
§ Massive scalability; mul+-‐plant development strategy
§ TSX:RGX – recent market cap $78M
Argex – A Specialty Chemicals Company
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TSX:RGX
Significant producGon off-‐take and distribuGon agreements in place
§ PPG Industries – the largest paint company in the world ($15B rev)
§ Long term OSake Agreement § Technology licensing and sharing agreement § Co-‐development rela+onship
§ Helm AG – the third largest chemical distributor in the world ($10B Euro) § Distribu+on and Marke+ng agreement for 50% of our output § Excep+onally efficient sales structure
§ PVS Chemicals – the second largest iron chloride distributor in NA § LOI for distribu+on of 100% of our iron by-‐product
Argex’s Tier 1 Industry Partners
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TSX:RGX
Global TiO2 Producers
38%
17% 10%
Other 8%
8%
8% 6% 5% China
§ Large global market: ~$17 billion
§ Oligopoly of supply – plurality of demand – supplier power is high
§ Dated incumbent technology
§ TiO2 sells for ~US$3,400/MT1
§ 5.7 million MT sold per year2
§ TiO2 demand tracks with global economic growth
TiO2 Industry Snapshot
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
$3,000
$3,500
$4,000
$4,500
$5,000
1) ICIS, April. 2014 2) Industrial Minerals Nov. 2014 5
TiO2 Global Price History/metric tonne (MT)
TSX:RGX Target OperaGng Model – 1st Plant
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§ Current capital expenditure plan of approximately US$265.1 million + US$23.7 million con+ngency.
(1) Assumes full production, today’s estimated TiO2, by-product, feedstock, chemicals and other input pricing, among others (2) Net of by-products credits
Plant #1 Target OperaGng Model (1)
Total Market Size 5,700,000 tonnes Plant Capacity 50,000 tonnes
Low High
Revenues 145,000 155,000 2,900 3,100 Gross Profit (2) 80,000 96,000 1,600 1,920 Gross Margin 55% 62%
EBITDA 65,000 81,000 1,300 1,620 EBITDA Margin 45% 52%
Per Tonne (US$000s) Low High
TSX:RGX
§ 40 km southwest of Montreal; § Near a major port on the St. Lawrence Seaway § 1 million square feet parcel of land secured
from City of Valleyfield § Close to a local CSX rail terminal as well as to
the Port of Valleyfield. § Close to a major chemical feedstock provider
§ Commercial produc+on is expected to begin 26 months from NTP (No+ce To Proceed)
§ EPC contract signed with Técnicas Reunidas § Leading global engineering & construc+on
company with €3.1B revenues
First ProducGon Site in Valleyfield, QC
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TSX:RGX Project Strategy – Risk ReducGon
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FEL-3 Construction Commissioning
§ FEED/FEL-‐3 work is the first phase of project – an integral part of the recently signed EPC contract
§ Mi+gates risk and improves project ROI § Defini+ve planning and cos+ng that reduce risk of delays and cost overruns § Greater certainty over CAPEX spend ( < 10% +/-‐ cost es+mate)
§ Comple+on leads to Guaranteed Target Contract Price, to be reflected in the EPC final terms § 50/50 shared cost savings/overrun approach
Guaranteed Construction terms settled with EPC contractor
Guaranteed equipment performance with major equipment providers
Poten+al Staged Financing Approach – Detailed Engineering and Construc+on
TSX:RGX Milestones
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2015 2016 2017
§ Iron-‐Chloride oSake agreement § Financing § Addi+onal process op+miza+on § Raw material supply contracts § Site & Long Lead Items (LLI) § Further IP filed § FEL3 Process
§ Guaranteed Target Contract Price, (FEL3) § NoGce to Proceed to construcGon (NTP) § Financing § Strategic project equity finance (Plant 1) § Remaining supply agreements § Supply and deliveries final logis+cs § Ground break § Construc+on & commissioning § Commercial produc+on
§ Final product specifica+ons § Plant 2 equity proposals § Large batch tes+ng and deliveries § Commercial Produc+on (CP)
FEL3/NTP LLI CP
TSX:RGX Key Highlights
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§ Patented Gtanium dioxide (TiO2) producGon technology § Disrup+ve low-‐cost process with key environmental benefits § Opera+onal pilot plant near loca+on of future 50,000 tpa produc+on plant
§ Strong industry relaGonships § Significant oSake and distribu+on agreements (PPG, Helm, PVS) § NDA’s in place with major end-‐users and distributors
§ Large, mature target market § TiO2 TAM is ~$17 billion worldwide § Cash cow/low innova+on industry ripe for disrup+on – last major technological innova+on in 1946
§ Compelling project economics with significant upside due to scalability § Large opera+ng margins § Mul+-‐plant deployment strategy in a large market
§ FEL-‐3 compleGon de-‐risks project and creates value § Achieves Guaranteed Target Price Contract with EPC partner § Key development threshold for strategic investors/acquirers
APPENDIX
TSX:RGX RGX in the Capital Markets
-‐-‐
500
1,000
1,500
2,000
2,500
3,000
$0.35
$0.60
$0.85
$1.10
$1.35
Feb-‐13 May-‐13 Aug-‐13 Nov-‐13 Feb-‐14 May-‐14 Aug-‐14 Nov-‐14 Feb-‐15
VOLU
ME (IN
000'S)
PRICE ($)
A B C D
F G
E
H I J K
I
KEY MILESTONES
A. 27-‐JUN-‐13 Signs purchase agreement with PPG
B. 16-‐SEPT-‐13 Completes $10M private placement of common shares
C. 19-‐SEPT-‐13 Commences trading on the TSX
D. 09-‐OCT-‐13 Completes feasibility-‐stage study
E. 29-‐OCT-‐13 Announces migra+on of Pilot Plant and R&D Centre to Valleyfield, QC
F. 30-‐JUN-‐14 Issues conver+ble debentures
G. 26-‐AUG-‐2014 Signs marke+ng and supply agreement with Helm US Corp
H. 29-‐SEPT-‐14 Announces expiry or exercise of all outstanding warrants
I. 17-‐FEB-‐15 Announces completed technical due diligence reports
J. 03-‐MAR-‐15 Awards EPC contract to Técnicas Reunidas
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Metric Value 5 2 Week High $0.94
52 Week Low $0.36 % of 52 Week High 60%
C ash on Hand & Marketable Securi+es as at Sep. 30, 2014 $9.4M
Conver+ble Debentures as at Sep. 30, 2014 $7.5M Coupon Rate 8% Maturity Date 30-‐JUN-‐19
TSX:RGX RGX in the Capital Markets (conGnued)
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Share ownership Number of Shares Ownership in %
Top InsGtuGonal Holders Luxor Capital 22,710,783 15.9% Inves+ssement Québec 4,878,049 3.4% Alken Asset Management 605,896 0.4% Marquest Asset Management 256,987 0.2% Marmite Capital 230,000 0.2% Total 28,681,715 20.0%
Insiders Haddad Mazen 2,400,000 1.7% Bonnell Roy 1,069,280 0.7% Florian Rais 1,700,000 1.2% Total 5,169,280 3.7%
FD Shares Outstanding 143,203,269
Float 115,239,206 80.5%
TSX:RGX Management
Roy Bonnell – Director, CEO § CFO, Vice President Corporate Development and Corporate Secretary from 2007-‐11
§ Managing Director, Atwater Financial from 2003-‐10
§ M.Sc Accoun+ng & Finance (LSE), MBA (McGill), L.L.B (Western), BA (Queen’s)
Glen Kayll – Director, CFO § Former CFO & VP of Interna+onal Opera+ons at Coastal Contacts (Nasdaq:COA)
§ Former Treasurer and Head of Investor Rela+ons at PMC-‐Sierra (Nasdaq:PMCS)
§ B.Com (Carleton), MBA (Simon Fraser)
Richard Poulin – ExecuGve VP • 25 year of pan-‐Canadian and interna+onal experience overseeing major engineering and construc+on projects
• B. Eng (Laval), P.Eng
Enrico Di Cesare – COO, VP technology § Metallurgy and opera+ons experience with Severstal, Danielli, Sammi, Atlas Steel, Hoogovens/Corus, Hatch
§ B. Eng (McGill)
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TSX:RGX
Typical TiO2 End Uses
Paint &
CoaGngs 62%
PlasGcs 26%
Paper 7%
Other 5%
Source: TI Insight 2014
§ TiO2 is the most widely used white pigment
§ Non-‐toxic and environmentally friendly
§ Numerous advantageous proper+es § Opacity § Brightness § Gloss § Tone (white) and under-‐tone (color) § Weather resistant and durable § Abrasiveness
About TiO2
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TSX:RGX
§ Average German uses 9lbs of TiO2 per year
§ Average North American uses 7lbs of TiO2 per year
§ BRIC currently uses on average 2lbs of TiO2 per year, per person
TiO2 Demand Tied To GDP
Source: Ti Insight, 2014 16
TSX:RGX Current Methods of TiO2 ProducGon
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Ilmenite Concentrate (Low Cost)
Argex Process
Sulphate Process
Smelting to Synthetic Rutile
Chloride Process
Natural Rutile
High Resource Scarcity
Prod
uctio
n co
st
Resource Scarcity-Quality
TSX:RGX
Ilmenite Ore
Crushing & Milling
Leaching Atmospheric pressure
FiltraGon
Inert solid tails
Solvent extracGon ( iron circuit)
Solvent extracGon (Gtanium circuit)
TiO2 precipitaGon
TiO2 recovery (filtraGon)
Surface treatment
Finish product TiO2 pigment
Regenerated HCl
Co-‐product Iron oxide
Co-‐product Magnesium oxide
Regenerated HCl
Acid regeneraGon
Acid regeneraGon
Lixiviant Mixed acids
HCl recycling system
ARGEX ExtracGon Process
ARGEX Process
Finish product TiO2 pigment
Co-‐product Iron oxide
Co-‐product Magnesium oxide
§ Solvent extrac+on is proven for uranium, copper, nickel, rare earths, etc.
§ State-‐of-‐the-‐art and off-‐the-‐shelf equipment
§ Filtering, rotary kilns, coa+ng and finishing are proven TiO2 technologies
§ Low temperatures and atmospheric pressures
§ Effec+vely extracts TiO2 from inexpensive ores containing different contaminants (Mg, V, Cr, etc.)
§ Marketable by-‐products, minimal inert residual
§ Environmentally friendly process, closed-‐loop
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TSX:RGX Argex Process vs. Other Methods
Sulphate Chloride Argex
Raw material cost ($/ton of TiO2 feed)
Low Ilmenite
High Rutile
Low Ilmenite
TiO2 final product Low purity High purity High purity
Capital expenditure Medium High Medium
Operational costs Medium High Low
Environmental High Medium Low
Flexibility in processing raw material
Limited (Cr, V)
Limited (Mn, Mg, size) High flexibility
Process Condition High temp.
High pressure (140-180 0C)
Very High temp. High pressure (800-1,400 0C)
Low temp. Atm. pressure
(70 0C)
TiO2 Pigment production Rutile/Anatase Rutile Rutile/Anatase
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TSX:RGX
TiO2 Pigment ProperGes Difference Between Processes
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Sulfate Chloride Argex
Brightness Less bright More bright More bright
Undertone More yellow Less yellow Neutral
Dispersibility More Less More
Abrasiveness Less More Less
TSX:RGX
Market AcGon
§ Develop collabora+ve partnerships in the following sectors: § Architectural paint and coa+ngs § Cosme+cs, food and pharmaceu+cals § Plas+cs
§ Current partners § Major Global manufacturers of end-‐
products that incorporate TiO2
§ Mul+na+onal distributors § Academic
§ NDAs have been signed with several end-‐users and distributors, advancing discussions and nego+a+ons
Our Go-‐to-‐Market Strategy Risk MiGgaGon
§ Extensive third party engineering plan completed
§ Opera+ng model established by a “Big 4” accoun+ng firm
§ Modest size rela+ve to other solvent extrac+on plants
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TSX:RGX
NYSE: PPG
Global supplier of paints, coa+ngs, op+cal products, specialty materials, glass and fiber glass
Founded: 1883
Total Net Sales 2013: $15.1 Billion Ranked 182 on Fortune 500
Employees: ~42,600
Manufacturing Facili+es: 156
§ June 2013: Signed major purchase and technology sharing agreements with PPG Industries, the world’s largest paint company
§ PPG and Argex are currently collabora+ng on a +tanium dioxide product that can meet conven+onal standards for interior and exterior paint applica+ons
§ Collabora+on allows PPG to leverage its exper+se to secure a supply of a cri+cal raw material for its products while helping to mi+gate pricing or supply vola+lity
§ Partnership and supply agreement further validate Argex’s process and the suitability of its TiO2 pigment for commercial use
§ Technology sharing agreement allows Argex to use PPG Finishing technologies.
Major Customer Partnership: PPG
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TSX:RGX
HELM AG Founded: 1900 in Hamburg, Germany Global revenues 2013: US$12.7 billion (EUR 9.666 billion) Employees: 1,431
Branches and company par+cipa+ons: 90 firms and company par+cipa+ons in more than 30 countries
§ August 2014: Signed an exclusive long-‐term marke+ng and supply agreement with Helm U.S. Corp., a wholly-‐owned subsidiary of German-‐based HELM AG, the third largest chemical distribu+on company in the world
§ HELM U.S. will exclusively market and distribute to U.S. and Canada 50% (or up to 25,000 metric tons per year), of TiO2 produced at Argex's Salaberry-‐de-‐Valleyfied plant
Major DistribuGon Agreement: HELM
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"We are extremely pleased to be able to secure an addi,onal supply of high quality ,tanium dioxide for our customers and add another milestone to the development of our distribu,on network in North America. “This is a very exci,ng opportunity and we recognize the poten,al effect Argex's next genera,on process will have on the ,tanium dioxide industry.“ -‐ Philipp Mangold, president of HELM U.S. Corp.
TSX:RGX
Major interna+onal supplier of specialty chemicals
Founded: 1945 Headquarters: Detroit, MI
Opera+ons:
Europe – PVS Chemicals Belgium
Canada – Fanchem Ltd. Asia – Siam PVS Chemicals
§ March 2015: Signed LOI for distribu+on of 100% of iron by-‐product, with nego+a+on of a defini+ve off-‐take and distribu+on agreement to be completed over the next several months
§ PVS is a global manufacturer, distributor and marketer of chemicals and transporta+on services
§ PVS core products and business lines include: § Sulfuric and hydrochloric acids, liquid caus+c soda, ferric chloride, and
ammonium thiosulfate ( water treatment, electronics manufacture, gold and copper mining, and food and aluminum produc+on)
§ PVS Chemicals' subsidiaries include PVS Technologies (water treatment), Dynecol (transporta+on, analysis, treatment, and recycling of chemicals), & PVS Nolwood (chemical distribu+on).
Major Customer Partnership: PVS
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TSX:RGX
Global engineering, procurement and construc+on company
Founded: 1959 Headquarters: Madrid, Spain
Rev: €3.1B
Employees: 5,910
Bolsa Madrid: TRE
§ March 2015: Signed EPC agreement for Argex’s first industrial scale 50,000 tonne plant in Valleyfield, Qc
§ EPC contract will be performed in two phases; the first being front end engineering design (FEL3) and the second being detailed design and construc+on
§ Upon comple+on of the FEL3, a guaranteed target contract price will be agreed and will be based on a 50/50 cost savings/overrun approach
§ TRSA is a general contractor which provides EPC for industrial and power genera+on plants
§ The company has designed and built over 1,000 industrial plants worldwide with interna+onal projects accoun+ng for 70% of annual revenue
§ Key areas of ac+vity include petrochemicals, cogenera+on, metallurgy, mining and iron and steel plants.
Major Partnership: Téchnicas Reunidas, S.A.
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TSX:RGX Board of Directors
Robert Guilbault -‐ Chairman of the Board of Directors § Former President & CEO of Aluminerie Alloueye § General Manager of BHP Billiton’s Hillside Aluminum project at Richards Bay, South Africa § 20 years of mining produc+on experience Roy Bonnell – Director, President and Chief ExecuGve Officer of the CorporaGon Glen Kayll – Director and Chief Financial Officer of the CorporaGon Normand Bergeron – Director § Execu+ve Counsellor at Samson Bélair/Deloiye & Touche since October 2011 § CEO of Infrastructure Québec since incep+on March 2010 § Deputy Minister, Québec Department of Natural Resources and Wildlife, May 2005-‐July 2009 § Member of Hydro-‐Québec’s board of directors (2005-‐2009)
Mazen Haddad – Director § Former President of Township Capital § Partner Palos Capital Pool Fund § Chairman of SGI Proper+es L.P. § B.A. (Emory University) Florian Rais – Director § Founder of Far Investments, a private equity and corporate finance firm § Partner at Tangent Venture, a private equity investment firm in London, UK § Director of Blue Wall Shipping Ltd., and China Motors Ltd. § BA & MBA (University of Lausanne Business School)
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TSX:RGX
Roy Bonnell, President & CEO [email protected] Tel: +1 514-‐788-‐8923 Glen Kayll, CFO [email protected] Tel: +1 514-‐843-‐0141
Contact Us
CORPORATE HEADQUARTERS 630 Sherbrooke Street West, Suite 410 Montreal, Quebec H3A 1E4, Canada www.argex.ca
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