North Atlantic Titanium Corp.

Why is titanium considered a strategic resource for the defense sector and which military systems rely on it the most? Okay, well, again, you know, we go back to you know, being critical for exactly those reasons. You know, every country now as as we've heard our own prime minister say, you know, we need to we need to have an industrial base that we can rely. We don't have to rely on other countries. >> [music] [music] >> Hi, how you doing today? I'm your host Richard De Souza here on behalf of the Rich TV show with our very special guest, the CEO of North Atlantic Titanium Corp, Dwayne Ieritz. How you doing today, Dwayne? I'm doing just great. Thanks very much. Very excited to have you on the show and I just want to let everyone know the symbols the symbols on the Canadian security change are NATO, NATO. On the OTC it's NATQF and in Frankfurt, Germany it's Y33. So, let's just start simple because a lot of people hear the word titanium but don't fully understand it. So, that leads me to my first question. For viewers now that are new to the space, what is titanium and why is it considered such a critical material globally? Mhm. Well, it's it's funny you should ask because you know, really up until say more the last say three or four years, titanium really hasn't been one of those sexy minerals as you might call it. You know, gold, silver obviously were in the play for the for a while and still are of course. But more recently with the whole let's call it geopolit- political issues that we're seeing, critical minerals have become just that, critical. And why? Because they're they're absolutely imperative to the industrial machine of of most if not all countries. And and unfortunately, even though titanium is relatively common in the world, there's not there's not a shortage of titanium per se. What is what where there is a shortage is of the high grade titanium. And um you can imagine that high grade is used in things like airplanes, fighter jets, stealth bombers, your golf clubs, hip joints. I mean, you know, there's many, many things that we don't even think about. And >> [clears throat] >> you know, the the largest mine in the world, excuse me, the largest mine in the world is in Canada, the largest titanium mine that is. It's operated by Rio Tinto, it's known as Lac Tio. And it supplies about 19% of the global supply. supply. Wow. Two is China, number two is Norway. And then you have Russia and Ukraine after that. So, you can see by virtue of those top five I've just listed that um should the geopolitical system go awry, um China is not going to be a reliable supply. Certainly Norway being a a NATO country could be a supply. However, being so close to Russia, that may not be a reliable supply for that very reason. And then of course Russia and Ukraine being the subsequent supply. So, the whole concept Rich of onshoring critical minerals to keep that industrial base alive in all countries is in fact just that, critical. So, because it's used in so many things. So, this is why the Canadian production of titanium is so relevant. Again, as I said earlier, it's 19% of the global supply, that one mine that's by the way 3 km from us. But it probably constitutes and we can't find this number by the way. I don't think it's published anywhere. But it probably constitutes 60 to 80% of the North American supply. So, again, very very sorry to keep the industrial machine operating much less the aerospace and or military machine as they call it. Okay, so now we understand what it is but the real question is why does it outperform everything else? Which leads me to my next question. What makes titanium superior to metals like steel or aluminum in high performance and extreme environments? Right. Well, you know, titanium has a very strong or a very good strength to weight ratio, far better than steel. And and you know, in critical applications like aerospace or military, um obviously that's a huge advantage. I'll give you an example. In in the case of fighter jets, you know, some of the fighter jets they the the the Raptor for example, is 42% titanium. Um some of the some of the uh stealth bombers for example, the Lightning for example, I think it's I think it's called the Lightning. If you use just regular steel at its Mach, I think it's 3.5, the friction is so great that if you manufacture that jet out of steel, it would literally melt. It would burn in the sky. Because the the um uh the resistance to heat for titanium is about 220° if I'm not mistaken higher than steel. So, that 220° buys you that additional safety margin. Well, not just safety margin. I mean, you obviously don't want your fighter jets burning up in the sky just by their own speed. So, that's that's absolutely critical. Then you go to things like just your regular 737s or a 747 or a bus 380, um they're made up of probably 15 to 20% titanium. There's their fuselages, their wings, um and of course their the engines themselves are a higher ratio. I'm not exactly sure what that ratio is. But it's it's a large amount. I mean, such that you know, a 777 for example, uses about 60 tons of titanium. Uh a 380 uses more than that. It uses almost 80 tons of titanium. Again, because obviously weight to strength ratio in an airplane is valuable, right? Very valuable. Not the least of which for fuel cost, not the least of which for being able to carry more payload, which of course you know, in the case of an airline, that's how they make their money, you know? You can carry more weight and and cargo as opposed to the weight of the actual plane itself, that's a good thing. So, it's stronger, lighter, more durable. That's a powerful combination. Let's connect that to where it actually shows up in the real world, which leads me to my next question. Which industries depend most on titanium today and where is demand growing the fastest? Okay, well, I think to answer your question about the demand, I think that demand is probably growing I don't know if it's equal but I mean, it's it's consistent across the world. You know, obviously um making something lighter and stronger maybe more even more flexible. Titanium is one of the other uses for titanium is in architectural usage because the metal actually has some flexibility and at the same time it's stronger. So, that as you well know has some advantages as well both in the design and the strength of a structure. So, that's important. So, that's where it starts to get interesting but there's one sector where titanium isn't just useful, it's absolutely critical. Now, this is where we need to get really, really serious, okay? Let's talk defense cuz that's obviously huge in news today because this is where the stakes go way up. And it leads to my next question. Why is titanium considered a strategic resource for the defense sector and which military systems rely on it the most? Okay, well, again, you know, we go back to you know, being critical for exactly those reasons. You know, every country now as as we've heard our own prime minister say, you know, we need to we need to have an industrial base that we can rely. We don't have to rely on other countries. And and so, you know, it's not surprising I believe that for example, um Saab manufacturing the Gripen jets are proposing building Gripens in Canada. Again, because if you're in the theater of war, again, should hell the things go to hell in a handbasket as they say, if you're in the theater of war, i.e. um some of the NATO countries in Europe, um you want those planes being manufactured outside the theater of war. And you also need to have them manufactured where the metals used are attainable. You know, as I said earlier, the name main supplies Canada being number one, China number two and in terms of the largest mines in the world. China actually produces the majority of the titanium but again, not so much of the higher grade. And I'll get into that in a second. Norway and then as I said, Russia and Ukraine. Well, again, those none of those are necessarily reliable suppliers should the geopolitics get worse than where they are today. So, again, if you're manufacturing planes or military machinery that requires being both light and strong and resistant to corrosion, all of those good things, then you need to have that resource onshore. Now, there are other titanium resources in North America, but again, typically they're that much lower grade titanium that's used for industrial use, not military or aerospace. And that's the growing That's the growing sector right now for that higher grade. And we've been working very very closely with our with Core Met Elements 8 out of Quebec. They're one of the premier labs in the world. And the reason for that is because we are doing concurrently to our other exploration efforts on the property, we are doing metallurgy. And that metallurgy is critical to understanding the value of your ore and how that applies again to that much smaller sector and much higher demand sector of titanium of or sorry, of military and or medical grade or aerospace grade as otherwise known titanium, rather than the more common industrial grade. Now, when you layer that with global tensions, it's not just about usage, it's about access. Absolutely. >> Now, now that leads to my next question. How vulnerable is the global titanium supply chain today? And why does that matter for Western nations? Mhm. Well, you know, as I alluded to earlier, um you know, the Canadian mine currently being run by Lactea, which is by the way is only 3 km from our site, the Everett property. That's the property we're talking about today. Um they supply 19% of the global supply as I said earlier. And so being that that other 80% is produced in other countries, again, should there be some should global tensions increase, then and and that and that and that titanium is simply not available in North America, you have a problem. So, we've got rising demand, critical defense reliance, and potential supply risk, which brings us directly to the opportunity. Mhm. Looking ahead, how do you see titanium demand evolving? And why should investors be paying attention right now? Well, there's no question, as I said earlier, that demand is rising. The applications are absolutely necessary. We've determined that already. One of the other aspects that that that most people may not be aware of if is that the Rio Tinto mine has been operating for some 72 years or maybe it's 74 years now. Again, that's the mine immediately 3 km away from us, very very close. And all of that infrastructure required to operate a mine of that magnitude is in place. It's billions and billions of dollars of infrastructure from a town to a deep water port to a railway, access road, a highway, and not one but four hydroelectric dams because it is energy reliant as well. And you know, all mines eventually have a lifespan. Now, I don't know what that lifespan in the case of Rio Tinto's Lactea resource is, but after 74 years, you know, there there is going to be a best before date, let's you know. And so, can you imagine that if and when that resource starts to run shy and Canada or for that matter the free world is left with little to no supply that's not in China, that's not in Russia, that's not in Norway or Ukraine. If if you take those out of the equation and there were no supply in Canada as well, you'd have a huge problem. So, it's absolutely necessary, again to use the word critical, for North American and quite frankly even European countries, i.e. NATO, to rely on a rely to have a reliable supply such as Canada. Because again, as you well know, geopolitically we are trusted and we're reliable. That's the way we're seen upon the world, even more reliable than some of our neighbors. Powerful insights. It's It's clear this isn't just another commodity story. This is about strategic resources in a changing world. We really appreciate you coming on. The CEO of North Atlantic Titanium Corp, Dwayne Yaretz. The symbol in Canada is NATO, NATO on the Canadian Securities Exchange. In America, it's NATQF. And in Frankfurt, Germany, it's Y33. Dwayne, thank you for joining us today. Thanks very much. Appreciate it. Thank you guys for watching. If you like these videos, we appreciate it. You smash the like button, comment down below, share the video everywhere, and subscribe for future updates. And remember, if you're not winning, you're probably not watching. We bring the winners, CEO interviews, breaking news, trending topics in the world of finance, and we bring it to you first. Thank you for watching everybody. We'll see you again soon. Bottom line, North Atlantic Titanium Corporation is built for disciplined growth and long-term value creation. We're aligned with a rising demand curve, backed by strong [music] assets, and focused on execution. For investors, this is a strategic entry point [music] into a critical material story with real upside. We're moving with purpose, and we intend to deliver.