Metals Australia Hits 99.1% Pure TiO₂ as 45.7Mt Manindi Resource Opens Up
Key Takeaways
- Metals Australia has declared a maiden Inferred Mineral Resource of 45.7 Mt grading 9.4% TiO₂, 0.25% V₂O₅ and 21% Fe at Manindi West, confirmed within an optimised open-pit shell using Whittle software.
- Bench-scale metallurgical test work achieved greater than 99.05% TiO₂ purity, positioning the project to potentially access high-purity product markets priced at US$2,500–US$3,800/t versus US$200/t for conventional ilmenite concentrate.
- The 45.7 Mt MRE sits within a broader Exploration Target of 67–89 Mt, with four additional look-alike VTM targets spanning a further ~4 km of strike length not yet incorporated into any resource estimate.
- An adjacent Zn-Cu-Ag resource of 1.08 Mt at 6.52% Zn, 0.26% Cu and 3.19 g/t Ag sits less than 1 km away on the same granted mining leases, with zinc up over 38%, copper up over 47% and silver up over 59% in 2026.
- MLS holds an 80% interest in Manindi via Karrilea Holding Pty Ltd, with next steps including an integrated bench-scale flowsheet, further RC and diamond drilling, and a potential Options Study for the VTM project.
Manindi West delivers a maiden VTM resource and high-purity TiO₂ breakthrough
Metals Australia has announced a dual milestone at its Manindi West project in Western Australia’s Murchison region: a maiden Inferred Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) of 45.7 Mt grading 9.4% TiO₂, 0.25% V₂O₅ and 21% Fe (at a 4% TiO₂ cut-off), alongside confirmation of 99.1% purity TiO₂ production from metallurgical test work.
The result establishes Manindi as a multi-commodity development hub, with the new Vanadium-Titanium-Magnetite (VTM) resource sitting within a broader Exploration Target of between 67 and 89 Mt grading 8.2–11.9% TiO₂, 0.20–0.29% V₂O₅ and 19.5–23.5% Fe. Both the VTM project and the adjacent Zn-Cu-Ag resource sit on granted mining leases less than 1 km apart, and 13 of 14 RC holes drilled in 2025 intersected thick zones of VTM mineralisation.
Paul Ferguson, CEO, Metals Australia
“The declaration of a maiden Mineral Resource at Manindi West represents a significant milestone for Metals Australia and further strengthens our growing portfolio of development assets. The scale and grade of the new Vanadium-Titanium-Magnetite (VTM) Resource provides a strong foundation for a potential standalone project. It also creates strategic development optionality alongside the Company’s nearby Zinc-Copper-Silver Resource, located just one kilometre away. Importantly, both projects are situated on granted mining leases which provide a clear pathway for ongoing project evaluation and advancement.
While the maiden VTM Resource is a substantial achievement, we believe it represents only the beginning of the opportunity at Manindi West…”
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Breaking down the Manindi West VTM resource
The deposit has a confirmed strike length of approximately 1,250 m, with mineralisation extending from surface to 260 m depth. Units dip north-east at approximately 30°, forming a geometry well suited to open-pit extraction.
The resource is classified as JORC Inferred, meaning geological and grade continuity can be assumed but not yet verified given the current wide drill spacing of approximately 160 × 40 m. This is consistent with JORC Code (2012) requirements for the Inferred category. Importantly, the MRE has been evaluated for its Reasonable Prospects for Eventual Economic Extraction (RPEEE), confirmed through an independent pit optimisation using Whittle software, meaning the resource sits within an optimised open-pit shell.
The table below summarises the resource sensitivity at various cut-off grades.
| Cut-Off (% TiO₂) | Classification | Tonnage (Mt) | Avg TiO₂ Grade (%) | Avg V₂O₅ Grade (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Inferred | 48.1 | 9.1 | 0.24 |
| 3 | Inferred | 46.6 | 9.3 | 0.24 |
| 4 (reported) | Inferred | 45.7 | 9.4 | 0.25 |
| 5 | Inferred | 41.9 | 9.9 | 0.25 |
| 6 | Inferred | 37.2 | 10.4 | 0.26 |
The sensitivity table shows the resource is relatively insensitive to cut-off grade changes. Dropping to a 3% TiO₂ cut-off adds only approximately 1 Mt, reflecting strong continuity of grade throughout the mineralised system.
Four look-alike targets signal district-scale potential
Beyond the current resource, four additional look-alike VTM targets have been identified, spanning approximately 4 km of additional strike length. These have not yet been incorporated into the Exploration Target.
- Target 2 has been drill-tested by a single hole (MWRC014), which intersected similar magnetite-ilmenite mineralisation at 82 m downhole, with 61 m of mineralisation logged to 240 m depth — confirming the targets present mineralisation consistent with that now included in the MRE
- Targets 3, 4 and 5 remain undrilled at this stage
- Additional magnetic anomalies east of the discovery zone represent further untested exploration upside
The Company intends to undertake further RC and diamond drilling to test these extensions, subject to funding, approvals, land access and rig availability.
From ore to high-value product: the metallurgical pathway
VTM deposits contain vanadium, titanium and iron co-occurring within magnetite-rich intrusive rock. The key commercial insight is that the ore can be processed to yield multiple saleable products simultaneously, with titanium commanding significantly different pricing depending on the form in which it is sold.
The metallurgical programme at Manindi West has proceeded in two stages. Stage 1 focused on leaching: at optimised conditions of 7% solids concentration over 6 hours, the process extracted 82.5% of contained iron and 91.5% of contained TiO₂ into solution, demonstrating strong ore reactivity and suitability for hydrometallurgical processing.
Stage 2 investigated selective recovery of those extracted elements as distinct, high-purity products. The outcomes were:
- Selective iron removal via solvent extraction, reducing iron concentrations in solution to below detection limits
- Titanium recovered via hydrolysis, achieving >99.05% TiO₂ purity
- Minimal impurity co-precipitation during the hydrolysis step
- Acid retention and recycling maintained within the process
The commercial significance of these results lies in the pricing differential. Conventional ilmenite concentrate is currently priced at approximately US$200/t, while high-purity TiO₂ products attract prices in the range of US$2,500 to US$3,800/t in global markets. For the quarter ending June 2026, the TiO₂ price index rose by over 20% quarter-on-quarter in the USA, with an average price of USD$3,217/t; Japan’s index rose over 10% and Europe’s rose 9.25%.
The leach solutions also detected gallium and scandium, providing potential additional value optionality. The next phase of test work will apply an integrated bench-scale flowsheet to a representative sample of the newly established MRE material, with the aim of generating pilot plant design data and producing customer qualification samples.
A multi-commodity development hub: the Zn-Cu-Ag project next door
Less than 1 km from the new VTM resource sits the Manindi Zinc-Copper-Silver project, a separate JORC Mineral Resource that adds meaningful commodity diversification to the same tenement package. The Zn-Cu-Ag MRE totals 1.08 Mt at 6.52% Zn, 0.26% Cu and 3.19 g/t Ag (at a 2% Zn cut-off), containing an estimated 70,000 t of zinc, 2,800 t of copper and approximately 110,000 oz of silver.
Both resources sit within three granted mining leases (M57/227, M57/240 and M57/533), providing a clear development pathway. Current metal prices have brought the project back into focus. According to LME and Trading Economics data dated 21 September 2026, zinc is up over 38% in 2026 and testing four-year highs at US$3,920/t (approximately A$5,444/t); copper is up over 47% at US$14,521/t; and silver is up over 59% at US$66.44/oz. The Zn-Cu-Ag resource also remains open along strike and at depth, meaning the existing mineral inventory could grow with additional drilling.
Value creation pathways under evaluation
The Company is evaluating a range of commercial pathways for the Zn-Cu-Ag project, including:
- Direct development of the project as a standalone operation
- Integration with the proposed Vanadium-Titanium-Magnetite (VTM) Project
- Sale of ore in either run-of-mine or upgraded form
- Strategic partnerships or joint ventures
- Partial or full divestment of the asset
Separately, historical drill core across the broader project area is being re-examined, including visual reassessment and portable XRF analysis of mineralised intervals, with the potential to identify additional mineralised zones beyond the current resource boundaries.
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Investment thesis: why Manindi matters to investors now
The strategic picture at Manindi is built around commodity diversification from a single tenement package. The VTM project delivers exposure to vanadium, titanium and magnetite iron; the adjacent Zn-Cu-Ag resource adds zinc, copper and silver. That is six distinct commodity markets with different demand drivers, all accessible from granted mining leases that eliminate tenure risk as a concern at this stage of evaluation.
The metallurgical results provide meaningful de-risking for the premium product ambition. Achieving 99.1% purity TiO₂ from bench-scale test work positions the project to potentially access markets paying US$2,500–US$3,800/t, a multiple of what conventional concentrate commands. This does not guarantee future project economics, but it removes a key technical uncertainty about whether the ore can produce high-value products.
Resource growth runway remains substantial. The current 45.7 Mt Inferred MRE sits within an Exploration Target of 67–89 Mt, the resource remains open along strike and at depth, and four look-alike targets spanning a further ~4 km of strike have not yet been incorporated into any resource estimate.
MLS holds an 80% interest in the Manindi project via Karrilea Holding Pty Ltd. Manindi is one asset within a broader portfolio. The Company’s Lac Carheil graphite project in Quebec has reported a Prefeasibility Study with a pre-tax NPV-8 of A$790.8M and an IRR of 22.0%, while a Preliminary Economic Assessment for the Quebec Battery Anode Material refinery near Baie-Comeau indicated a pre-tax NPV of US$2.05B and an IRR of 25.6%. Manindi sits alongside these assets as an additional value layer.
The Lac Carheil graphite project in Quebec represents the most advanced asset in the Metals Australia portfolio, with its Prefeasibility Study NPV and IRR figures providing a benchmark against which Manindi’s development trajectory can be measured as test work and resource definition advance.
Next steps at Manindi West include an integrated bench-scale metallurgical flowsheet, further RC and diamond drilling (subject to funding, approvals, land access and rig availability), and a potential Options Study for the VTM project.
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