The Chemours Company (Chemours), a global chemistry company with leading market positions in titanium technologies, fluoroproducts and chemical solutions, today announced the acquisition of Southern Ionics Minerals, LLC (SIM), a minerals exploration, mining, and manufacturing company headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida. SIM was a wholly owned subsidiary of Southern Ionics Incorporated (SII), a privately held inorganic chemical manufacturer based in West Point, Mississippi.
SIM mines and processes titanium and zirconium mineral sands from a similar geological formation as those produced by Chemours at the company's existing mineral sands mine in Florida. This acquisition provides Chemours with tremendous flexibility and scalability to internally source ore, nearly doubling its capacity. The acquisition includes a mineral sands processing plant in Offerman, Georgia, an existing mine site in Charlton County Georgia, and administrative offices in Jacksonville, Florida.
According to Bryan Snell, president of the Titanium Technologies business for Chemours, the SIM assets complement the company's long-term business goals. According to Snell: "When we announced plans to begin operations at a new mineral sands mine site in Jesup, Georgia, we partnered with SIM to process the sands on our behalf. Their facilities for separating and processing the minerals were essential to our growth plans."
"But more importantly, SIM has a track record that demonstrates their strong commitment of being a responsible steward of the land and a good neighbor to the communities in which they operate," said Snell. "Their values of trust and integrity are closely aligned with our corporate value of unshakable integrity and our corporate responsibility commitments. We are proud to have SIM and its employees as part of our mining operations business," he added.
Chemours has the unique capability of producing its Ti-Pure™ brand of titanium dioxide from a wide variety of ores. In acquiring the SIM assets, the company will have additional access to large, high-value ilmenite ore deposits to produce titanium dioxide pigments. Having access to these internally produced ores delivers advantages for the business and provides a stable and predictable cost structure for customers, supporting the company's Ti-Pure™ Value Stabilization (TVS) strategy of investing in building capacity and product innovation, while fostering enduring, value-oriented customer relationships.
Snell noted that Chemours has mined mineral sands in Florida for more than 70 years with a strong reputation for responsible mine development. He added: "The outstanding environmental stewardship and strong local community support that has been the foundation of SIM's mining operations in Georgia is an important marker of the synergy between the two companies."
With this transaction completed, SIM becomes a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Chemours Company. They will be integrated into existing Chemours operations.
