Highlights include:
- Commercial pilot plant commissioned on time and on budget
- ~30kg of titanium metal alloy was produced during the commissioning of the Commercial
pilot plant - In the next phase, the alloy will be used to produce high purity (99.9%) titanium metal via
the Electro refining process - The patented method of metal production utilizes 45% less power than current industry methods
ASM’s Korean research and development partner, Ziron Tech has successfully produced a titanium metal alloy with the patented reduction process at the JV’s commercial pilot plant in South Korea.
Typically, in metal production, energy costs accounted between 30 – 40% of total costs. The production of the titanium metal alloy utilising 45% less power indicates significant cost benefits to ASM’s integrated business strategy.
ASM’s Managing Director, David Woodall said: “This is a significant milestone in the development of our integrated business plan that includes clean metal production from the development of the Dubbo Project in Central West NSW. The clean metal technology can be applied to all the products from the Dubbo Project.”