JX Advanced Metals Corporation

Tronox Holdings plc has signed a cooperation and investment agreement with JX Advanced Metals Corporation to advance its rare earth and critical minerals business. Under the agreement, the two companies will fund on a 50/50 basis approximately $32 million to support a definitive feasibility study for Tronox's proposed rare earth cracking and leaching facility in Australia, a pre-feasibility study for a proposed rare earth oxide refinery in the United States, and development of a US-based pilot facility capable of producing initial quantities of high-purity rare earth oxides. The Cracking Plant is planned for the Rockingham Industrial Zone in Western Australia, about three kilometers south of Tronox's Kwinana TiO2 pigment plant, while the Refinery is expected to be located on Tronox-owned land adjacent to its Hamilton, Mississippi TiO2 pigment facility. Together, the two sites would aim to produce up to 10,000 tonnes per annum of total rare earth oxides, and the agreement also contemplates joint development of niobium, scandium, zirconium, and hafnium from Tronox's mineral resources. If the engineering studies demonstrate technical and commercial viability, the companies will explore forming a joint venture to fund, build, and operate the assets, and they have engaged with government-backed financing institutions including the US Export-Import Bank and Export Finance Australia.

Kali Metals has signed a binding memorandum of understanding with Japan's JX Advanced Metals covering the Southern Lachlan Project in Victoria and New South Wales, Australia. Under the agreement, JX Advanced Metals will fund up to $498,746, or A$700,000, of exploration activities during an initial phase ending 31 March 2027. The project spans approximately 1,413 square kilometres east of Albury-Wodonga and is considered to have potential for lithium-caesium-tantalum pegmatites as well as tin and tungsten mineralisation. Kali Metals will remain the operator and manage the exploration programme during the initial exploration and due diligence period, overseen by a joint Exploration Committee, and is entitled to charge a management fee for that role. At the conclusion of the exploration phase, JX Advanced Metals will have an option to negotiate terms for either a farm-in or joint venture agreement, with a negotiation deadline of 30 June 2027. Managing director Paul Adams said the funding will allow Kali to advance exploration across its large and prospective project area, calling JX Advanced Metals' support as a potential long-term partner an exciting opportunity for the company and its shareholders.

JX Metals' full-year results for the fiscal year ending March 2026 showed revenue of 884.6 billion yen, up 23.7% year on year, operating profit of 174.9 billion yen, up 55.5%, and profit attributable to owners of the parent of 104.6 billion yen, up 53.3%. The main drivers of the revenue increase were higher sales of core products such as sputtering targets for semiconductors and rolled copper foil, along with rising copper prices, which outweighed the negative impact of a stronger yen. By reporting segment, Metals And Recycling posted the largest operating profit at 139.4 billion yen, followed by Semiconductor Materials at 39.4 billion yen and ICT Materials at 31.4 billion yen. Metals And Recycling's operating margin reached 35.7%, and although the segment accounted for 44.2% of revenue, it contributed an even larger share of profit. For the fiscal year ending March 2027, the company forecasts revenue of 1.025 trillion yen, up 15.9%, operating profit of 232 billion yen, up 32.6%, and net profit of 141 billion yen, up 34.7%. In the most recent first quarter of the fiscal year ending March 2027, revenue was 260.6 billion yen, operating profit was 81.4 billion yen, and quarterly profit was 53 billion yen, with operating profit having progressed to roughly 35% of the full-year forecast.

Nihon Keizai Shimbun announced on the 4th that it will remove Konica Minolta, Archion, and Kanadevia from the Nikkei Stock Average's constituent stocks, and instead add JX Metals, Capcom, and Kokusai Electric. The change, which takes into account market liquidity and other factors, will be implemented on October 1st.

JX Metals reported a 175.5 percent year-on-year surge in first-quarter operating profit to 81.4 billion yen for the fiscal year ending March 2027, and raised its full-year operating profit forecast to 232 billion yen. A weaker yen and higher copper prices, along with increased sales of semiconductor sputtering targets and rolled copper foil, helped lift revenue 36.2 percent to 260.6 billion yen. Strong copper markets and growing demand for semiconductor materials used in artificial intelligence are driving the company's performance.

JX Metals has raised its full-year consolidated net profit forecast for the fiscal year ending March 2027 to 141 billion yen, up 34.7 percent from the previous year, compared with the earlier projection of 114 billion yen. The upward revision reflects increased sales and improved selling prices of semiconductor materials amid expanding demand related to AI servers, as well as the weaker yen and higher copper prices. The new forecast falls short of the average estimate of 156.2 billion yen among 13 analysts compiled by IBES. The company left its dividend forecast for the current fiscal year unchanged at 20 yen.