Environment & Economy By Titanium Corporation Inc. 342 Views

Titanium Corporation Reports Results for the Third Quarter Ended September 30, 2020 and Provides Project Update

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CALGARY, Alberta(GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Titanium Corporation Inc. (the “Company” or “Titanium”) (TSX-V: TIC) today released its results for the three and nine-month periods ended September 30, 2020.

The COVID-19 pandemic and the collapse of oil demand and prices in 2020 has introduced unprecedented uncertainties for Canada’s oil sands industry and the Canadian economy. In recent months, there has been a second wave of the pandemic and the duration and the extent of the impact of these events is not known but could adversely affect the progress and timing of the CVW™ Horizon Project (the “Project”). In response, the Company has taken measures to protect its balance sheet by reducing costs and conserving cash.

During the first nine months of 2020, the Company and Canadian Natural Resources Limited’s (“Canadian Natural”) joint project engineering team has continued work on the Project utilizing internal resources, performing post-front end engineering design (“FEED”) engineering reviews, validation and optimization of the Project as well as continuing on-going minerals analysis programs. The main focus of the Project team in 2020 has been the optimization of the concentrator facility and the design and engineering of a tailings thickener and associated facilities. Optimization of the minerals facility, including further work by an external minerals engineering firm, commenced in the fourth quarter 2020 and will continue into 2021. In parallel, the Company has been providing updates to the Alberta and Federal government agencies who have awarded grant funding for the Project, working with them toward finalizing funding contracts and assessing new, recently announced programs, for potential additional funding for the Project.

“While we are all experiencing the on-going uncertainties and challenges of the pandemic and the economy, our joint Project team has remained very focused on advancing our Project, completing another successful quarter of facility engineering and minerals development,” commented Scott Nelson, Titanium’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “We were pleased to complete the ERA funding agreement during the quarter and are now working on other government funding programs to support the Project. Our Project is highly relevant to government and industry objectives of reducing climate changing emissions, particularly methane, and supporting shovel-ready projects that will stimulate Alberta and Canada’s economic recovery.”

Certain highlights for the three and nine-month periods ended September 30, 2020 are set out in more detail below:

  • On September 28, 2020, the Company announced that Emissions Reduction Alberta ("ERA") and Titanium signed a contribution agreement for the award of $5 million of grant funding for the Project. A portion of eligible Project costs will be reimbursed with the successful completion of specified milestones outlined in the agreement. $2.0 million in ERA grant funding is available for the detailed engineering phase of the Project with the balance of $3.0 million available for the procurement and construction phases.
  • Engineering optimization and validation activities by the internal Project engineering team continued during the third quarter. This activity has been mainly focused on the concentrator facility with the objective of improving operability, enhancing environmental performance and reducing costs. This work includes changes to the plot plan to increase modularization, relocating certain equipment and reducing building sizes; the addition of a vapor recovery unit to the flotation circuit; the review of alternate flotation technologies and the addition of a tailings thickener which will process and remediate the tailings from the concentrator. The Project team expects to substantially complete the optimization phase of concentrator engineering by the end of the fourth quarter of 2020.
  • Minerals testing and analysis of larger tailings samples commenced in the third quarter and is ongoing to provide current data for the engineering design of the minerals facility. In the fourth quarter, optimization engineering commenced for the minerals facility and will continue into 2021. IHC Robbins, an expert minerals engineering firm who have been providing engineering services to the Company throughout R&D and front end engineering design programs, have been contracted for preliminary design of the minerals facility process flowsheet. The redesign will incorporate production of a high-quality zircon sand concentrate and a high TiO2 ilmenite product and other modifications.
  • In addition to finalizing ERA, the Company continued to advance contracting with other government funding agencies providing updates on the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and the oil demand and price collapse on the Project. Funding from government programs is subject to finalizing funding agreements which outline conditions under which funding would be provided. Of the $50 million of grant awards to the Company in 2019, approximately $7 million is designated for the engineering phase of the Project with the balance for the procurement and construction phases.
  • Several new Alberta and Federal government funding programs aimed at reducing emissions, increasing energy efficiency, and supporting new technology implementations have been announced in the third and fourth quarters of 2020. The Company is assessing these programs, is in discussions with governments to determine their applicability to the Project and is making further funding applications where applicable.
  • The Company implemented salary reductions in the range of 15 to 20% effective April 1, 2020 to preserve cash in response to the uncertainty created by the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting delays to the Project. The Company is also continuing its cash conservation programs including those under which management and directors receive a portion or all their compensation and fees in restricted share units and deferred share units (“DSUs”), respectively. This program is aimed at conserving cash and further aligning management and the Board with shareholder interests. Since the inception of the program in 2015, the Company’s directors have been receiving 100% of their compensation in DSUs in lieu of cash compensation. To date, $3.9 million in management and Board cash compensation has been conserved through the program.



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