Multi-billion investment in manufacturing capacity at LB Group in 2022

At a meeting on January 17, 2022, the Board of Directors at LB Group approved new multi-billion RMB investment in the company’s chemical manufacturing capacity in China.

New lithium iron phosphate production
An investment of two billion RMB (US$315.2M) has been approved for the construction of a new 150kt/yr lithium iron phosphate production plant at the company’s Xiangyang site in Hubei Province. Lithium iron phosphate is used in lithium batteries to power electric vehicles.

New titanium dioxide pigment finishing plant
One billion RMB (US$157.6M) will also be invested at the Xiangyang site in the construction of a new 200kt/yr titanium dioxide (TiO₂) pigment finishing plant. Two TiO₂ pigment finishing lines will be built, each with the ability to process 100kt/yr TiO₂ pigment intermediate product. Titanium dioxide pigment is widely used in the manufacture of paints, plastics, printing inks and paper.

Doubling production of titanium sponge
442M RMB (US$69.7M) will be invested to double the company’s production of titanium sponge at its site in Chuxiong in Yunnan Province. The site currently produces around 10kt/yr titanium sponge. Two new chlorinators will provide 200kt/yr titanium tetrachloride (TiCl₄) of which 120kt/yr will be sold externally, and 80kt/yr will be used to help produce 20kt/yr titanium sponge. Titanium sponge is typically used to make strong, light-weight titanium metal alloys.

Construction at Xiangyang and at Chuxiong is expected to begin in Q1 2022.

Changes to senior management team
Changes to the company’s senior management team have also been announced. Mr Benliu He has been appointed President, Mr Haitao Zhang is now Vice President and HR Director, Mr Pengsen Wu has joined the senior management team as Vice President and Compliance Director and Mr Ruiqing Tan has relinquished his role as Vice President for Marketing. His role as Deputy Chairman of the Board of Directors remains unchanged.