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| 8-K - WHITE MOUNTAIN TITANIUM CORP | v190962_8-k.htm |
White
Mountain Signs Letter of Intent to License New Titanium Metal
Technology
SANTIAGO,
Chile, July 20, 2010 -- White
Mountain Titanium Corporation ("White Mountain" or the "Company") (OTC
Bulletin Board: WMTM - News) reports that it has
entered into a Letter of Intent with respect to licensing a new titanium metal
technology.
Four
parties comprised of White Mountain, its wholly-owned Chilean subsidiary,
Sociedad Contractual Minera White Mountain Titanium (“SCM White Mountain”), La
Serena Technologies Ltd. (“La Serena”) and Chinuka Limited plc (“Chinuka”) have
entered into a Letter of Intent with respect to licensing a new titanium metal
technology developed by Chinuka (the “Chinuka Process”). Subject to
executing a non-exclusive, sublicensing agreement with La Serena, SCM White
Mountain will gain access to the Chinuka Process for the Cerro Blanco
project. La Serena will execute the sublicensing agreement as holder
of the Chinuka Process master license.
As
consideration for the sublicense, the terms of the agreement between SCM White
Mountain and La Serena will provide for:
.
The Company to allot 4,000,000 White Mountain restricted common shares to
Chinuka and La Serena (800,000 to Chinuka and 3,200,000 to La
Serena). These shares are issuable over 24 months with 500,000 shares
released to each Chinuka and La Serena on closing and the balance released from
escrow at the end of each subsequent fiscal quarter on the basis of 37,500 to
Chinuka and 337,500 to La Serena;
.
SCM White Mountain to be able to cancel the sublicense agreement (and related
escrow share releases) at anytime following the initial release of
shares;
.
SCM White Mountain to spend $5,000,000 within 5 years of closing to advance
development of the Chinuka Process towards commercialization;
.
SCM White Mountain to make 2% gross royalty payments to La Serena on any revenue
generated by the Cerro Blanco project which is attributable to the Chinuka
Process and to make advance minimum royalty payments to La Serena of $200,000
per year commencing 5 years after closing; and
.
SCM White Mountain to commence commercial production of titanium metal using the
Chinuka Process and feed stock derived from the Cerro Blanco property within 9
years after closing.
The
Chinuka Process was developed under the direction of Dr. Derek Fray, Professor
and Director of Research, Materials Science and Metallurgy, University of
Cambridge. Unlike the industry-standard, multi-step Kroll batch
process which uses titanium pigment as a feed stock to produce titanium sponge
metal, the Chinuka Process is essentially a one-step process and uses titanium
ores and concentrates as a feed stock. By replacing a multi-step
process with a process in which refining and electro-deposition take place
simultaneously and substituting ores and concentrates as a feed stock, the
Chinuka Process holds forth potentially significant cost and production time
saving over the Kroll process.
In
sublicensing the Chinuka Process through SCM White Mountain, the Company will
create an opportunity to add value to the Cerro Blanco project, particularly
with respect to the planned minus 53 micron titanium concentrate
product.
"Being
the first to secure access to the Chinuka Process is an exciting opportunity for
the Company," said Michael Kurtanjek, the Company's President and CEO. "Titanium
is a remarkable but relatively expensive metal. The titanium industry
has for some time been seeking a replacement for the Kroll process whereby
titanium metal could be produced more quickly and cheaply in an environmentally
acceptable manner. The Chinuka Process has been developed with a view
to replacing the Kroll process and while the Chinuka Process has yet to be
commercialized, Dr. Fray’s results to date at a lab scale are very
encouraging. If these results can be scaled up to a full sized
titanium metals plant, the Chinuka Process would represent a major advancement
in the production of titanium metal and make the metal more available and
affordable for broader application. "
About
White Mountain Titanium Corporation
The
Company holds mining concessions on the Cerro Blanco property currently
consisting of 33 registered mining exploitation concessions and five mining
exploration concessions in the process of being constituted, over approximately
8,225 hectares located approximately 39 kilometres west of the City of Vallenar
in the Atacama, or Region III, geographic region of northern Chile. The
Company's principal objectives are to advance the Cerro Blanco project towards a
final engineering feasibility, and to secure off-take contracts for the planned
rutile concentrate output. It would be the intention to sell the rutile
concentrate to titanium metal and pigment producers. Work also continues to
investigate the commercial viability of producing a feldspar co-product. The
feldspar could find applications in the glass and ceramics
industries.
The OTC
BB has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or
accuracy of this release. This news release may contain forward-looking
statements including but not limited to the viability of the Chinuka technology,
comments regarding the timing and content of upcoming work programs, geological
interpretations, receipt of property titles, potential mineral recovery
processes, etc. Forward-looking statements address future events and conditions
and, therefore, involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results may
differ materially from those currently anticipated in such
statements.
Cautionary
Note to U.S. Investors -- The United States Securities and Exchange Commission
permits mining companies, in their filings with the SEC, to disclose only those
mineral deposits that a company can economically and legally extract or produce.
We may use certain terms in our press releases and on our website, such as
'reserves,' 'resources,' 'geologic resources,' 'proven,' 'probable,' 'measured,'
'indicated,' and 'inferred,' that the SEC guidelines strictly prohibit us from
including in our filings with the SEC. U.S. investors are urged to consider
closely the disclosure in our annual report on Form 10K for the year ended
December 31, 2009, File No. 333-129347, and in subsequent filings with the SEC.
You can review and obtain copies of our filings from the SEC's website at http://www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml.
Contact:
White
Mountain Titanium Corporation
Michael
Kurtanjek, President
(56) 2
231-5780
Brian
Flower, Chairman
(604)
408-2333