Tasnee subsidiary postpones trial of titanium sponge project to H2-18

Advanced Metal Industries Co. (AMIC), which is equally owned by Tasnee and Cristal, has postponed the trial run and commercial startup of its titanium sponge project to the second half of 2018, due to delays in the construction of the raw material unit (titanium tetrachloride), Tasnee said in a bourse statement on Sunday.

In June, the company said it expects the test-run of the project to be scheduled soon, with commercial operations likely to be launched by year-end following completion of mechanical works.

The project, which is located in Yanbu industrial City, will initially produce 15,600 tons a year of pure titanium, the statement said.

Financial impact of the new date of the startup cannot be determined at this stage, and further updates will be announced later, the statement said.

In January 2014, Tasnee signed a joint venture agreement with Japan’s Toho Titanium Co. Ltd. to build the SAR 1.6 billion project.

AMIC owns 65 percent of the project, while Toho Titanium holds the remaining 35 percent.