Here's an interesting play Fairmont Resources (FMR-V) titanium
www.fairmontresources.ca
Company presentation - fairmontresources.ca
Companies such as Airbus Group NV have set up a task force to "explore alternative titanium supply options in case the Western sanctions on Russia disrupt supplies." As titanium is an increasingly important component for commercial airliners including Airbus and Boeing Co., and both companies "rely heavily on Russian Suppliers," Airbus is "looking at access to both titanium as a raw material and as forging sources from Russia ... ." (The Wall Street Journal, May 20, 2014, "Airbus explores titanium supply options amid Russia sanctions"). During 2013, the United States imported Russian titanium and related articles worth $168.38-million (U.S.), while only exporting $12.29-million (U.S.) worth of these products to Russia (MetalBulletin, July 21, 2014 -- "Non-ferrous metal trade could suffer from U.S., EU sanctions on Russia").
Stockpiling of Russian aerospace-grade titanium has started in the U.S. Titanium by weight "for a single F-35 Joint Strike Fighter is 30,000 pounds." More importantly, the U.S. is "import-dependent for 79 percent of the titanium it consumes each year" (Real Clean World, Aug. 12, 2014, "How long can the U.S. rely on Russian titanium"). "Strong but lightweight, titanium is used across many industries, but the aerospace and defense sector is the biggest consumer ... . The material is especially important for the 787 Dreamliner, accounting for about 15% of the airframe weight of Boeing's flagship commercial jet" (The Wall Street Journal, Aug. 7, 2014, "Boeing, United Technologies stockpile titanium parts"). |
