On September 22, LB Group signed a letter of intent with Australia’s Image Resources for cooperation on overseas mineral sands projects, planning to acquire approximately 80% interests in two mineral sands projects in Western Australia, Durack and Yandanooka. On September 24, the company held a groundbreaking ceremony for a new plant at the Gurun Heavy Industrial Park in Kedah, Malaysia, planning to build production facilities with an annual output of 300,000 tonnes in phases.
The two mineral sands projects in Western Australia are located in the North Perth Basin, about 300 kilometers north of Perth. According to LB Group’s announcement, calculated under the JORC (2012) standard, as of September 2026, Durack has resources of approximately 37.7 million tonnes with a heavy mineral grade of 2.2%, while Yandanooka has resources of approximately 57 million tonnes with a heavy mineral grade of 3.1%. The projects plan to produce heavy mineral concentrate through mining and beneficiation. The main valuable minerals include zircon, ilmenite, rutile, and leucoxene.
At present, both projects have obtained exploration licenses but have not yet entered the mining stage.
Under the current proposed plan, LB Group intends to pay approximately AUD 20 million in cash and contribute machinery, equipment, and other assets valued at approximately AUD 140 million, totaling approximately AUD 160 million, to acquire approximately 80% project interests. However, the transaction is still at the letter-of-intent stage. It will subsequently require due diligence, execution of formal agreements, shareholder approval, and regulatory approvals such as from Australia’s Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB). The final transaction structure and consideration have not yet been determined.
Titanium concentrate is an important raw material for LB Group’s production of titanium dioxide and titanium sponge, and the two mineral sands projects contain resources including titanium and zirconium. LB Group was already Image Resources’ largest shareholder, with a combined shareholding of 22.64%. This cooperation is not about starting from scratch to seek overseas mineral resources; rather, it builds on an existing investment relationship to further acquire interests in mining projects.
Two days later, LB Group launched another overseas project in Gurun, Kedah, Malaysia. The project is being built by its subsidiary LB Advanced Material Asia Sdn. Bhd. It covers 60.1 acres and involves a total investment of approximately MYR 1 billion (about USD 245 million), of which the first-phase investment is about MYR 600 million. The project will be built in phases. After full completion, it is planned to have an annual output of 300,000 tonnes, with products including titanium dioxide and advanced inorganic chemical materials.
The Gurun Heavy Industrial Park is connected to Malaysia’s road and rail networks and provides access to Penang Port. LB Group said that building a production base there is mainly intended to serve regional and global customers, improve export efficiency, and facilitate supply chain adjustments.
At present, LB Group’s domestic annual titanium dioxide production capacity exceeds 1.51 million tonnes. After the Malaysian project is completed, the company will further increase its overseas titanium dioxide production capacity.
In recent years, LB Group has continued to advance its overseas business. After the Malaysian project is completed, the company will add overseas titanium dioxide production capacity. At the same time, by participating in the Western Australian mineral sands projects, it will extend further upstream into titanium mineral resources. From raw material supply to production bases, LB Group is moving parts of its titanium dioxide industrial chain overseas.
