Cristal Global, one of the leading vertically integrated titanium chemicals companies in the world, announced Thursday a groundbreaking partnership with Outotec, a leading provider of sustainable minerals and metals processing solutions. The parties signed a Letter of Intent on Oct. 31, 2011. Outotec has been selected to build a new fully scalable ilmenite-processing plant for Cristal Global in Yanbu, estimated to become operational in Q4 2013. The plant will be constructed on a turnkey basis, will require 800,000 tons of ilmenite ore to produce 500,000 tons of 85 percent TiO2 slag with 235,000 tons of high purity pig iron as a valuable co-product. The smelter's location brings significant cost savings and operational synergies, due to the logistics, cost savings, and abundant power capacity in the Kingdom. Thomas VanValkenburgh, Vice President of Supply Chain at Cristal Global, said:”Cristal Global is proud to bring its expertise, capital and strategic vision to this new project, poised to benefit the whole vertical industry value chain through additional TiO2 feedstock production capacity. We've made the decision to invest now to ensure that our customers, business partners and wider stakeholders have the security of stable supply of TiO2, which is vital for the future and growth of the whole industry.” Moreover, “we look forward to working with our partner, Outotec, on this project, as well as to more fruitful collaboration with our current mineral sands suppliers and our integrated upstream subsidiary BeMax. We believe this investment will create growth and opportunities across the vertical industry value chain.” Cristal Global is a leading globally vertically integrated chemical and pigments company, primarily focused on the titanium dioxide (TiO2) technology. Cristal Global's headquarters is located in Jeddah, with significant presence in North America, Latin America, Europe (UK, France, and Belgium), Australia and China. With approximately 4000 employees worldwide, Cristal Global is a strong and stable global operator, with strong values, clear strategy, best-in-class R&D and a long-term investment perspective. Cristal Global is the second largest TiO2 producer in the world, a leading manufacturer of ultrafine TiO2 and the largest merchant supplier of titanium with global revenues surpassing $2.2 billion in 2010.
