Iluka Resources sinks after withdrawing synthetic rutile guidance
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More news: Shares in Iluka Resources tanked in early trade after the miner withdrew guidance for synthetic rutile sales, flagging uncertainty over its contract with UK buyer Venator Materials.
Iluka shares were down 14.1% to $7.13 at 11am AEDT. The stock is up 41.2% this calendar year.
Fellow critical minerals producer Lynas Rare Earths tumbled 11.3% to $18.09. Both companies have rallied this week after China announced it would introduce new export controls on the materials.
Iluka Resources scraps synthetic rutile guidance over contract uncertainty
The news: Critical minerals miner Iluka Resources has withdrawn guidance for synthetic rutile sales due to uncertainty over the future of its contract with British chemicals company Venator Materials.
The context: Chinese chemicals giant LB Group announced on Thursday that it had signed an asset purchase agreement with Venator to buy the company's titanium dioxide (TiO2) manufacturing site in Greatham, UK, and associated assets.
The deal remains subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions. However, Iluka said LB's announcement suggests Venator's Greatham site is idled and may remain in a shutdown state until completion of the takeover.
Iluka has a synthetic rutile supply agreement with Venator and has sold and received payment for 11,000 tonnes in 2025 to date. A further 11,000 tonnes has been shipped to Venator, without payment.
Iluka is contracted to supply a further 36,000 tonnes to Venator this calendar year. Iluka is contracted to ship a further 63,000 tonnes in 2026 and 35,000 tonnes in 2027.
The Perth-based miner has also previously warned about the impact of global economic uncertainty on demand conditions in the pigment market, which is the primary consumer of synthetic rutile.
Iluka said this morning that it is in discussions with a number of pigment producers who have take-or-pay synthetic rutile sales contracts in place.
The miner said it is "taking appropriate steps to safeguard its contractual rights" and noted "a potential outcome of these discussions is a rebalancing of some customer obligations over 2025 and 2026 with their requirements for security of supply of Iluka's titanium feedstock products in 2027 and beyond."
