U.S. titanium metal producer IperionX has released a Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS) for the Titan Critical Minerals Project in Tennessee, confirming a fully domestic U.S. titanium supply chain. The project includes four saleable mineral products: ilmenite, rutile, zircon, and heavy rare earth concentrate. IperionX plans to directly convert ilmenite and rutile into metal powder using its patented Hydrogen Assisted Metallothermic Reduction (HAMR) process, bypassing the energy-intensive sponge titanium and smelting stages of the traditional Kroll process, reducing costs by 40-70%. The project has a post-tax net present value of $813 million, an internal rate of return of 39.4%, and a payback period of 3.63 years. The Virginia facility currently has an annual capacity of 200 tonnes, targeting 1,400 tonnes/year by 2027 and over 10,000 tonnes/year by 2030.