Casablanca – Steadright Critical Minerals has announced a new agreement for the TitanBeach titanium project in Morocco, granting its Moroccan partner, NSM Capital, a 32% share without requiring it to pay exploration or production costs.
TitanBeach is located on Morocco’s Atlantic coast between Tan-Tan and Tarfaya, in the Guelmim-Oued Noun region. The project covers 192 square kilometers, including a 16-square-kilometer area that has received a mining license granted by Moroccan authorities on August 12.
NSM Capital has finalized the agreement with Homme Construction, a Moroccan company. The two companies have created a new entity called Shan Tang Mining, which will hold the TitanBeach claims. NSM Capital will have a 32% interest in the new company.
The project focuses on heavy mineral sands containing titanium. Earlier exploration samples recorded iron oxide levels of up to 79.5% and titanium dioxide levels of up to 14.9%. These figures come from exploration samples and do not represent a confirmed commercial mineral resource.
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Under the new agreement, Shan Tang Mining has also signed a cooperation deal with a state-owned engineering and construction group. The group will support the project with planning, design, construction work, operations and maintenance. It will also provide mining technology, equipment and systems for processing the mineral sands.
The first stage will involve operating a pilot plant at TitanBeach. The companies will then use the results to develop a longer-term mining plan. The agreement, signed on July 10, also includes plans to install additional equipment to process the minerals.
Steadright holds a 76.5% stake in NSM Capital. Through that ownership, its share of the 32% interest in Shan Tang Mining is about 24.5%. Under a separate agreement with Critical Foundation Metals, Steadright can increase its ownership of NSM Capital to 80%.
The environmental permit for TitanBeach has also passed the public review stage and is now awaiting signature, according to Steadright.
Titanium is used in a wide range of products, from paints, plastics and paper to aircraft parts, medical equipment and industrial machinery. Titanium metal is valued for being strong, light and resistant to corrosion, while titanium dioxide is widely used as a white pigment.
The mineral could also have relevance to Morocco’s growing aerospace industry, which includes companies such as Safran, Airbus and Boeing suppliers and more than 140 companies across the sector.
