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TSX-V : RGX PATHWAY TO PRODUCTION Corporate Presentation November 2012

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Page 1: 01_argexnov2012presentationfinal(2)

TSX-V : RGX

PATHWAY TO

PRODUCTION

Corporate Presentation

November 2012

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FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENT The information presented contains “forward-looking statements”, within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, and “forward-looking information” under similar Canadian legislation, concerning the business, operations and financial performance and condition of Argex Mining Inc. (“Argex or the Company”. Forward-looking statements and forward-looking information include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to estimated production, the estimation of mineral reserves and mineral resources; the realization of mineral reserve estimates; the timing and amount of estimated future production; costs of production; capital expenditures; success of exploration activities; permitting time lines and permitting, mining or processing issues; government regulation of mining operations; environmental risks; unanticipated reclamation expenses; title disputes or claims; litigation liabilities; and limitations on insurance coverage. Generally, forward-looking statements and forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “plans”, “expects” or “does not expect”, “is expected”, “budget”, “scheduled”, “estimates”, “forecasts”, “intends”, “anticipates” or “does not anticipate”, or “believes”, or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results “may”, “could”, “would”, “might” or “will be taken”, “occur” or “be achieved”. Forward-looking statements and forward-looking information are based on the opinions and estimates of management as of the date such statements are made, and they are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements or forward-looking information. Although management of the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements or forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements and forward-looking information. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements or forward-looking information that are incorporated by reference herein, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.

The technical information contained in the presentation has been reviewed by André Laferrière, Qualified Person for Argex and conforms to National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.

Investors are advised that National Instrument 43-101 of the Canadian Securities Administrators requires that each category of mineral reserves and mineral resources be reported separately. Mineral resources that are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability.

The Qualified Person has not done sufficient work to classify the historical resources estimates and the issuer is not treating the historical estimate as current mineral resources

The Qualified Person has been unable to verify the information related to the Ni 43-101 mineral resources reported from other companies and included in the presentation

Cautionary Note to U.S. Investors Concerning Estimates of Measured, Indicated or Inferred Resources

The information presented uses the terms “measured”, “indicated” and “inferred” mineral resources. United States investors are advised that while such terms are recognized and required by Canadian regulations, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission does not recognize these terms. “Inferred mineral resources” have a great amount of uncertainty as to their existence, and as to their economic and legal feasibility. It cannot be assumed that all or any part of an inferred mineral resource will ever be upgraded to a higher category. Under Canadian rules, estimates of inferred mineral resources may not form the basis of feasibility or other economic studies. United States investors are cautioned not to assume that all or any part of measured or indicated mineral resources will ever be converted into mineral reserves. United States investors are also cautioned not to assume that all or any part of an inferred mineral resource exists, or is economically or legally mineable.

2

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HIGHLIGHTS

TiO2 prices at all-time high averaging $4,500 US/tonne*

Game-changing, patented extraction process for high-purity TiO2 production. Proprietary and innovative extraction process producing high purity TiO2

Argex and PPG Industries (2nd largest paint company in the world) signed technology collaboration agreement to develop PPGs technology for TiO2 (titanium dioxide) pigment for paints and coating applications using Argex’s TiO2 (April 2012)

Currently negotiating Purchase and Sale Agreement with PPG Industries

Low-risk proven strategy for industrial production scale-up

Expansion of TiO2 pilot plant in Mississauga, Ontario with anticipated production > 10 kg/day (September 2012)

Strategic asset: La Blache property NI 43-101 Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) - NPV $2.2 billion (October 26, 2011)

3

*Source: Industrial Minerals http://indmin.com/, September 2012

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TITANIUM DIOXIDE INDUSTRY OVERVIEW

TiO2 prices are expected to double from 2010 to end of 2015

Current prices are averaging $4,500 US/tonne

There is a direct correlation between TiO2 demand and global GDP (see chart)

TiO2 is fundamental to many basic building blocks of economies: paint, coatings, housing materials, automobiles, industrial equipment, consumer packaging and construction materials

4

(Ref. Ti Insight, LLC - December 2010)

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TIO2 GLOBAL PRICE HISTORY Current TiO2 prices are at all-time high averaging $4,500 US/tonne*

Prices are expected to double from 2010 to 2015**

Stable and improving industrial demand

**Source: Ti Insight LLC, Dec. 2010 *Source: Industrial Minerals http://indmin.com/Sept.2012

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WORLDWIDE TIO2 PRODUCTION

Company Headquarters 2010 Capacity

(,000 metric tonnes) % World Capacity

DuPont USA 1,292 20%

Cristal Global Saudi Arabia 700 11%

Huntsman USA 565 9%

Kronos USA 533 8%

Tronox USA 465 7%

ISK Japan 237 4%

Sachtleben Germany 232 4%

Argex Canada 200 3%

Dongjia Group China 145 2%

Lomon China 134 2%

Crenox Germany 107 2%

Total World Production 6,398 100%

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NEAR TERM PRODUCER

Argex is a near term producer of

pigment quality TiO2

Significant price increases expected

by 2015

Bankable feasibility study expected

by Q2 2013

Argex’s primary goal is to advance

rapidly to production, meeting or

exceeding industry product

standards.

7

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GAME-CHANGING

TECHNOLOGY

Argex has an innovative,

proprietary, technological

process to extract high

purity TiO2 pigment

directly from ilmenite ore.

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CANADIAN TITANIUM LTD. - CTL PROCESS

Argex controls 50.1% of Canadian Titanium Ltd. (CTL), owner of

the patented processing technology for production of TiO2

CTL Process is a proprietary, solvent extraction chemical process

The CTL technology is designed to extract TiO2 from the

processing of ilmenite, the most commonly available titanium-

bearing iron oxide mineral

Our product provides a competitive advantage. The quality and

purity make a noticeable difference in performance and testing

Ongoing refinement has driven TiO2 purity beyond 99.8%

Colour and brightness of TiO2 product meet or exceed those of the

industry’s leaders

Environmentally friendly project:

− closed-loop process

− minimal inert tailings

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DE-RISKING SCALABILITY

State of the art, off-the-shelf, proven equipment:

- Industrial-scale equipment has been used for a number of years

in Northern Saskatchewan for uranium processing and

Newfoundland for nickel processing

- The metallurgists behind CTL were key to perfecting the

uranium and nickel processes mentioned above.

Pilot plant in operation since February 2011.

Pilot plant expansion completed September 2012.

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On April 3, 2012 Argex

announced the signing

of a technology

collaboration with

PPG Industries, the

second largest paint

company in the world.

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PPG INDUSTRIES

Pittsburgh Paints Group ® (PPG) is an internationally recognized

brand, with history exceeding 100 years.

PPG paints are sold through an independent dealer network

consisting of 2,500 locations across the United States and in over

250 PPG company-owned stores.

PPG previously manufactured TiO2 at its Natrium, W.Va.,

chemicals plant and sold TiO2 pigment for coatings and other end-

use applications.

PPG experts spent nine months prior to the early April

announcement in multiple stages of due diligence. This involved a

detailed review and validation of Argex’s chemical processing

technology as well as testing the quality of our TiO2.

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PPG AGREEMENT OVERVIEW

Argex and PPG to develop and optimize pigment grade TiO2 for

paints and coatings.

Combines PPG’s coatings technology and expertise with Argex’s

TiO2 proprietary processing technology.

The TiO2 is intended to be compatible with various end-use

applications for PPG and would be produced by Argex.

Argex and PPG have agreed to certain terms of mutual exclusivity

during the negotiation period of the purchase and supply

agreement.

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Our preliminary

economic assessment

(PEA) demonstrates the

economic viability of our

process and supports our

mission of producing TiO2

that meets or exceeds

industry standards.

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PRELIMINARY ECONOMIC ASSESSMENT

La Blache NI 43-101 PEA study outlines the

following:

IRR (Pre-Tax): 32%

NPV: $2.2 billion (using an 8% discount

rate)

Payback period of 7 years assuming a

staged, modular plant construction

Total operating cost (net of by-products) of

$586/tonne of TiO2 (averaged over the life

of the mine)

Price per tonne of TiO2 used (trailing

3 year average): $2,846 ($US/tonne)

Effective date: October 26, 2011

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END-USER COLLABORATION

NDA’s currently in place with major end-users

Argex’s product has been tested by PPG to produce TiO2 that

meets the required specifications

Early stage collaboration allows Argex to finalize the process

design, accelerate project development and time to market

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ARGEX MINERAL PROPERTIES

Lac La Blache NI 43-101 compliant mineral resources totalling 30.9 Mt measured and indicated grading 18.8% TiO2 and 63.3% Fe2O3, with 13.0 Mt inferred grading 18.7% TiO2 and 63.1% Fe2O3.

Lac Brûlé Hosts historical resources of 3.87 Mt deposit at 27% TiO2 cut-off grade (Quinto internal report

2005). Airborne survey completed. Metallurgical testing continues; results show significant improvement over La Blache.

Mouchalagane Large (339 km²) Labrador Trough iron ore property with historic drilling results ranging from 31-36% total Fe.

Montréal

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2012 MILESTONES

Pilot plant scale-up

Lac Brûlé property acquisition

End-user agreements

Spin-off of Mouchalagane property

Feasibility-stage study

Project financing of first industrial-sized module

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ARGEX TEAM Robert Guilbault – Chairman of the Board of Directors

Former President and CEO of Aluminerie Allouette Inc., Sept-Îles, Quebec.

General Manager of BHP Billiton’s Hillside Aluminum at Richard’s Bay, South Africa.

Has worked in the mining production field for twenty years.

Roy Bonnell - President & CEO, Director, Founder

CFO, Vice President, Corporate Development and Corporate Secretary of Argex 2007 to 2011.

Managing Director, Atwater Financial, 2003-2010.

M.Sc. Accounting & Finance (London School of Economics), MBA (McGill), L.L.B. (Western), B.A. (Queen’s).

Normand Bergeron

Executive Counsellor at Samson Bélair/Deloitte & Touche since October 2011

Chief Executive Officer of Infrastructure Québec from its creation in March 2010

Deputy Minister, Québec Department of Natural Resources and Wildlife, from May 2005 to July 2009.

Member of Hydro-Québec’s Board of Directors (2005-2009).

Enrico Di Cesare - COO, VP Technology

Metallurgy, operations, know-how transfer, and management; Severstal, Danieli, Sammi Atlas Steel, Hoogovens/Corus/Hatch

Metallurgical Engineer from McGill University.

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ARGEX TEAM /2 Mark Billings - CFO, Director, Founder

Chief Financial Officer and Founder of Argex; President from 2007-2009

BA (Honours) from Carleton University and an MBA from the Harvard Business School; Chartered Financial Analyst.

André Laferrière – VP Mining and Geology

Argex’s NI 43-101 Qualified Person.

Professional registered geologist with over 15 years experience in exploration and mineral development projects for various commodities, including mineral resource estimation and NI 43-101 reporting.

M.Sc. in geology (Université de Montréal). Peter Smith - Director

President and CEO of Fancamp Exploration Ltd. (TSX-V: FNC).

B.Sc. in geology from McGill University and an MS and Ph.D from Northwestern University

Anthony Garson - Director

Involved in the brokerage industry as a Mines and Metals Analyst, V-P Scotiabank 1975-80, Dean Witter Reynolds (Canada) Ltd., Canaccord Capital.

Founding partner of Union Capital Markets (UK) Ltd.

Mazen Haddad - Director

Former President of Township Capital Inc.

Received a B.A. degree in Economics from Emory University of Atlanta, Georgia.

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ARGEX TEAM /3

Geneviève Marchand - General Counsel and Corporate Secretary

Counsel and Partner, Davies Ward Phillips and Vineberg, from 2000-2005

LLM from London School of Economics; LLB from Laval University

Member of the Quebec Bar

Ian Cox – Head of Engineering and Construction

Over 30 years’ experience, held executive positions in technology companies, construction and technology equipment providers to the metallurgy industry.

BS (Honours) from Leeds University

Academic studies also include the University of Tennessee, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and Harvard Business School.

Has published over 20 technical papers on the design, construction and operation of metallurgical furnaces

Philippe Guillemaille – Manager, Sales and Marketing

Regional Business Manager, Europe & Africa for Kronos, a leading TiO2 producer company, from 1998-2011

Graduate from the University of chemistry of Lyon

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SUMMARY

Argex is a near-term producer of commodities that the world

needs (titanium dioxide, iron ore)

NI 43-101 Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) released

October 26, 2011

PEA outlines project’s economical viability and low-cost production

Proprietary extraction process producing high purity TiO2

Primary objective is to advance rapidly to production

Low risk strategy for project scale-up

Mouchalagane iron ore property holds significant potential

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SHARE STRUCTURE As of November 1, 2012

Recent Price $1.02

52 week High $1.25

52 week Low $0.33

Market Cap $132 Million

CAPITALIZATION

116,385,671 Outstanding Shares

(basic)

17,000,000 Escrowed Shares

99,385,671 Free-trading Shares

8,600,000 Options

15,808,000 Warrants

140,793,671 Outstanding Shares

(fully diluted)

Market Performance

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MANAGEMENT TEAM

Roy Bonnell, President & CEO

[email protected]

Tel. : +1.514.788.8932

Mark Billings, CFO

[email protected]

Tel. : +1.514.296.1641

Enrico Di Cesare, COO

[email protected]

Tél. : +1.514.843.5959 x141

CORPORATE HEADQUARTERS

Suite 410, 630 Sherbrooke Street West

Montreal, Quebec H3A 1E4, Canada

Fax : +1.514.843.9208

www.argex.ca

Auditors: BDO Dunwoody

Legal Counsel: Heenan, Blakie LLP

Transfer Agent: Canadian Stock Transfer

Company Inc.

24

All of Argex’s public filings can be found on SEDAR (www.sedar.com)

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APPENDIX 1 Hydrometallurgical Process

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CTL PROCESS FLOW

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CTL PROCESS FLOW /2

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CTL TECHNOLOGY COMPARED

Sulphate Process (SP)1 Chloride Process (CP)1 CTL Process (CTL)

Both lower cost and lower TiO2 content ilmenite

ores and sulfate slags may be used in this process.

Generally requires the use of high TiO2 content Primarily ilmenite ore, not optimized for rutile.

Low grade TiO2 ore feeds can be used.

Base particle size control is less consistent than in

the chloride process, negatively impacting

product performance.

Generally higher product consistency Very high purity (99.8 %) TiO2 (rutile) product

Produces either the rutile or anatase crystal form Produces only rutile crystal forms Can produce rutile or anatase pigment

Larger buildings Smaller buildings Larger buildings

More vessels Fewer vessels but pressurized *No pressure vessels

More manpower necessary Less manpower necessary More manpower than Chloride Process

Lower training requirements for the staff Higher training requirements for plant operations

staff

Mix of qualified staff and operating personnel

A batch process A more continuous process Continuous process

More environmental impact due to much higher

waste generation

Less environmental impact due to less waste

generation

Environmentally attractive: energy efficient,

chlorine not used, closed loop operation, very

low inert tailings that can be used by local

construction raw materials

1 Source: Modified from http://www.ti-cons.com/Ti-Cons/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1&Itemid=12&lang=en

A1-3

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CTL TECHNOLOGY COMPARED

Sulphate Process (SP)1 Chloride Process (CP)1 CTL Process (CTL)

Process needs co-product management and attractive

markets for co-products

Limited possibility to rework some of the waste to

sellable co-products

Sellable byproducts (dependent on the source of

ilmenite) of iron, vanadium and chromium, acid

recovery and recycle

Process is easier to handle because of batch process Requires stable production environment and

infrastructure

Process is flexible – can handle variation in feed

material

Production does not directly stop if one step fails The process is more sensitive to production shortfall

because it has a closed loop front end

Production does not directly stop if one step fails

Higher safety requirements due to the use of Cl2 and

TiCl4

Safer operation - chlorine not used, organic solvents

used

Lower requirements to equipment and automation Higher degree of automation necessary Continuous process – can be automated

In general, the production costs are higher than

chloride process plants, especially outside of China

In general, the production costs are lower and do vary

by plant

Lower capital costs, lower operating costs – reagents

recycled, by-product revenue

1 Source: Modified from http://www.ti-cons.com/Ti-Cons/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1&Itemid=12&lang=en

A1-4

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APPENDIX 2

Mouchalagane Property

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THE MOUCHALAGANE PROJECT

Large (335 km²) undeveloped iron ore property with potential to become a Tier 1 mining asset

The southern-most Labrador Trough iron ore property, 100% owned by Argex

Located in the prolific Wabush geological formation hosting the iron mines of the Fermont-Labrador City area

Historical shallow drilling tested 5 targets with results of up to 100 m mineralization thickness grading 31-36% Fe total

Deposit type is coarse grained magnetite and hematite “meta-taconite” deposit very similar to nearby Mont-Reed and Fire Lake mining projects.

Recent conceptual data analysis of the entire property returned an exploration potential ranging between 940 million and 2.31 billion tonnes of 30-35% Fe total mineralization

A2-2

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MOUCHALAGANE - UNLOCKING VALUE

Argex is credited with no value in terms of market capitalization from Mouchalagane

High potential iron ore properties are presently a sought-after commodity

Iron ore demand is expected to continue to increase

Quebec’s North Shore accounts for 95% + of Canadian iron ore production and benefits from existing infrastructure

Argex is pursuing alternatives to unlock the value of this property

100 km

A2-3

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MOUCHALAGANE - ADDING VALUE

Airborne geophysical

survey completed in late

2010

Property sized tripled by

staking

environmental impact

study initiated

Site visit completed with

grab samples consistent

with historic values

NI 43-101 Technical

Report

Exploration potential study

completed

A2-4

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MOUCHALAGANE - AIRBORNE GEOPHYSICS

TSX-V : RGX The recent airborne magnetic survey

outlines several km-scale magnetic

anomalies on the property.

Survey results outline km-scale

magnetic anomalies including a series

of continuous anomalies over 40 km

in length corresponding to previously

recognised iron formations

Historical drilling confirmed the

presence of economic grade iron

mineralisation in five magnetic area to

date

Numerous untested km-scale

magnetic targets

Baie-Comeau

A2-5

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Estimated Exploration Potential for Untested Areas (white)

Area Size of Magnetic Anomaly (km2)

Estimated Thickness of Iron Formation

Volume (million m3)

Conceptual Tonnage (million tonne)

North 4.91 10 - 15 m 50 - 75 160 - 240

Central 9.88 10 - 25 m 100 - 250 320 - 800

Southeast 3.68 10 - 15 m 35 - 55 110 - 170

Total Estimated Exploration Potential for Untested Iron Formation 590 - 1,210 Mt

Estimated Exploration Potential for Areas with Historical Drilling (yellow)

Area Size of Magnetic Anomaly (km2)

Estimated Thickness of Iron Formation

Volume (million m3)

Conceptual Tonnage (million tonne)

Everett Lake 0.85 10 - 15 m 9 - 13 30 - 40

Crazy Lake 0.68 15 - 35 m 20 - 46 60 - 150

North Parr Lake 0.68 10 - 15 m 7 - 10 20 - 30

South Mountain 1.68 15 - 80 m 25 - 134 80 - 430

South Parr Lake 2.39 20 - 60 m 48 - 143 150 - 460

Total Estimated Exploration Potential for Known Iron Formation 340 - 1,110 Mt

South Parr Lake

South Mountain

North Parr Lake

Crazy Lake

Everett Lake

North Area

Central Area

Southeast Area

Exploration potential tonnage is based on the volumetric estimate using first vertical derivative magnetic anomalies and conceptual mineralized iron formation thickness from historical drilling. Bulk density of 3.2 t/m3 used.

The exploration potential quantity and grade stated in the

presentation is conceptual in nature, there has been

insufficient exploration to define a mineral resource, and it

is uncertain if further exploration will result in the target

being delineated as a mineral resource

MOUCHALAGANE – EXPLORATION POTENTIAL

A2-6

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MOUCHALAGANE – HISTORIC RESULTS

A2-7

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MINERAL DEPOSITS UNIQUE LOCATION

EXISTING INFRASTRUCTURE

Main access roads & forestry roads

Power lines

Deep sea ports

Skilled labour

Affordable housing for employees

Rail lines

100 km

A2-8

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APPENDIX 3

Analysts Summary

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ANALYSTS SUMMARY

BUY – 12 month target - $3.00

Analyst: John Hykawy

July 16, 2012

Different Process: Argex’s process is

hydrometallurgical. This process has

a distinct advantage in terms of being

able to process low grade feedstock

and also it has the potential to be

extremely competitive with cost.

Feedstock Squeeze: Argex’s process

can exploit lower quality titanium

feedstocks that cannot be processed

by the standard chloride or sulfate

processes for making higher-grade

TiO2.

Pigment Plus: As a producer of

feedstock and a vertical supplier of an

engineered product like pigment,

Argex will be better protected against

cycles in the industry than its

competitors.

Leverage: Pigment-grade TiO2 is now

selling for $4,500 per tonne. “High

enough margins to absorb the

occasional misstep” and by-products

can also contribute to earned income.

BUY – 12 Month Target - $1.65

Analyst: Fadi Benjamin

June 22, 2012

Demand for Titanium Dioxide

(TiO2) has grown historically at

3.3% annually and is projected to

remain strong.

Argex’s CTL Process estimated

cost savings of 65% over existing

TiO2 processes.

CTL produces very small amounts

of inert waste compared to other

TiO2 processes.

The price target of $1.65 has been

determined using a price of

$2,800/tonne for TiO2. The actual

current price is approximately

$4,500/tonne.

BUY – 12 month target - $3.10

Analyst: Matt Gowing

July 10, 2012

Lower Cost: Argex’s La Blache PEA

quantifies an opex of $1,500/tonne, lower

than the current industry’s costs ranging

between $2,000/tonne to $4,000/tonne.

Should Argex secure a higher grade

feedstock, its opex may drop to $400-

$500/tonne.

Lower Capex: Depending on ore source,

Argex’s capex/tonne range between

$2,000/tonne to $4,000/tonne, compared

to existing the sulphate processes which

require $4,000-$5,000/tonne. These

advantages may allow Argex to achieve

30%-plus IRRs on certain projects.

Cleaner: The CTL process runs in a

closed loop, continuous fashion. It also

has the ability to separate and purify

impurities thereby reducing the toxicity of

waste tailings.

Process flexibility: Having the ability to

process a low grade feedstock that

nobody else wants provides a cost

advantage, particularly in a rising cost

environment. Being vertically integrated

will allow Argex to capture more margin,

and enhance its assurance of supply.