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CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang LLP
Cannon Place
78 Cannon Street
London EC4N 6AF
DX 135316 London Cannon Place
T +44 20 7367 3000
F +44 20 7367 2000
cms.law
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Tronox Holdings plc
Laporte Road, Stallingborough
Grimsby, North East Lincolnshire
DN40 2PR
United Kingdom
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Our ref
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GMG/BN/165330.00001
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24 April 2020
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1.
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INTRODUCTION
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1.1
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We are acting as English legal advisers to Tronox Holdings plc (“Tronox”), a company incorporated in England and Wales with company registration number 11653089. We
have been requested by Tronox to render our opinion as to the matters set forth below in connection with the filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) under the Securities
Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), of the Registration Statement on Form S-3 (the “Registration Statement”) relating to the registration of (i)
shares of Tronox’s ordinary shares, par value US$0.01 per share (the “Ordinary Shares”); (ii) shares of Tronox’s preference shares, par value US$0.01 per share (the “Preference
Shares,” and together with the Ordinary Shares, the “Shares”); and (iii) Tronox’s debt securities, to be offered on an immediate, continuous or delayed basis pursuant to the provisions of
Rule 415 under the Securities Act.
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1.2
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We understand that the Shares are not and are not intended to be admitted to trading on any market or exchange, or otherwise listed, in the United Kingdom.
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2.
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DOCUMENTS EXAMINED
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2.1
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a copy of board minutes signed by the chairman of the Tronox board meeting held on 25 February 2019 at which the convening of the general meeting to approve the shareholder resolutions referred to in
paragraph 2.3 was approved (the “Minutes”) certified as being true and complete as at the date of the Officer’s Certificate (as defined in paragraph 2.4 below);
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2.2
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a copy of resolutions of the Tronox board meeting held on 17 April 2020 at which the filing of the Registration Statement was approved (the “Board Resolution,” together with the Minutes, the “Board Approvals”) certified as being true and complete as at the date of the Officer’s Certificate (as defined in
paragraph 2.4 below);
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2.3
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a copy of the shareholder resolutions passed by the sole shareholder of Tronox on 25 February 2019 approving the allotment and issue of shares in Tronox up to a maximum aggregate nominal amount of
US$5,000,000, certified as being true and complete as at the date of the Officer’s Certificate (as defined in paragraph 2.4 below);
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2.4
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a copy of a signed certificate from an officer of Tronox addressed to CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang LLP and dated 23 April 2020 (the “Officer’s Certificate”)
(without examining the substance of any attachments thereto other than the Board Approvals, the Articles (as defined in paragraph 2.5 below) and the New Articles (as defined in paragraph 2.6 below));
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2.5
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a copy of the articles of association of Tronox adopted on 31 October 2018 (the “Articles”) certified as being true, complete and up to date as at the date of the
Officer’s Certificate;
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2.6
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a copy of the articles of association of Tronox adopted on 27 March 2019 (the “New Articles”) certified as being true, complete
and up to date as at the date of the Officer’s Certificate;
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2.7
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a copy of the trading certificate of Tronox issued by Companies House on 8 November 2018; and
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2.8
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the results of our online search on 24 April 2020 at approximately 10:30 a.m. of the public records on file and available for inspection at Companies House with respect to Tronox (the “Records Search”) and the results of a search made by our court clerks of the CE‑File at the Central Index of Winding‑Up Petitions on 24 April 2020 at approximately 10:30 a.m. with respect to Tronox (the “Central Index Search” and together with the Records Search, the “Searches”).
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3.
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ASSUMPTIONS
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3.1
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the genuineness of all signatures on any of the Reviewed Documents and that any signature or execution pages on which any such signatures appear physically formed part of complete and final versions of those
documents at the time of signing;
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3.2
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the accuracy and completeness of all facts stated in any of the Reviewed Documents;
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3.3
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that where a document is required to be delivered, each party to it has delivered the same without it being subject to any escrow or other similar arrangement;
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3.4
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that the Company has fully complied with its obligations under all applicable money laundering legislation;
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3.5
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the authenticity, accuracy and completeness of all original documents submitted to us or used to provide copies to us and the conformity to original documents of all copy documents submitted to us;
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3.6
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that except insofar as matters are on public record and are discoverable by the Searches, Tronox has not passed a voluntary winding-up resolution, that no petition has been presented to or order made by a
court for the winding‑up or dissolution of Tronox, that no application has been made to a court for an administration order in respect of Tronox and no administration order has been made by any court in relation to Tronox, that no
appointment of an administrator of Tronox has been made out of court and no notice of intention to appoint an administrator has been given or filed with any court in respect of Tronox, that no receiver, trustee, administrator, provisional
liquidator, administrative receiver or similar officer has been appointed in relation to Tronox or any of its assets or revenues;
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3.7
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that the information disclosed in the Searches was correct and complete;
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3.8
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that the Board Approvals have not been amended, modified or superseded;
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3.9
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that each director of Tronox has disclosed any interest which he or she may have in the transactions contemplated by the Board Approvals in accordance with the provisions of the Companies Act 2006, the
Articles (in relation to the resolutions passed in the Minutes) and the New Articles (in relation to the resolutions passed in the Board Resolution), and that none of the relevant directors of Tronox have any interest in such transactions
except to the extent permitted by the Articles or the New Articles (as applicable);
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3.10
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that the actions to be carried out pursuant to the Board Approvals by Tronox and the exercise of its rights and performance of its obligations thereunder will materially benefit Tronox, and that the directors
of Tronox acted in good faith and in the interests of Tronox in approving each of the Board Approvals and the transactions contemplated thereby;
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3.11
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that the allotment and issue of any Shares will be approved: (i) at a properly constituted meeting of the board of directors of the Company or a committee of the board of directors of the Company; or (ii) by
a resolution signed by each director of the Company;
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3.12
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that the allotment and issue of the Shares will comply in all respects with the terms of the Special Eligibility Agreement for Securities dated 27 March 2019 and the Transaction Information Document dated 27
March 2019, as amended on 14 February 2020 (included as Exhibit A to our legal opinion letter dated 14 February 2020 which is Exhibit A to the letter agreement from the Company and Computershare Trust Company, N.A. to The Depository Trust
Company, Cede & Co. and National Securities Clearing Corporation and dated 14 February 2020);
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3.13
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that none of the Shares will be offered to the public in the United Kingdom, unless an approved prospectus has been made available to the public before the offer is made or a relevant exemption applies; and
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3.14
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that no action is being taken by the Registrar of Companies to strike-off the Company.
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4.
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OPINIONS
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4.1
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Tronox is a public limited liability company duly incorporated and validly existing under the laws of England and Wales; and
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4.2
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the Shares will be validly issued, fully paid and non-assessable. For the purposes of this opinion, “non-assessable” shall mean that no further contributions in respect of the Shares will be required to be
made to Tronox by the holders thereof by reason solely of being a holder of such Shares.
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5.
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QUALIFICATIONS
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5.1
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the Records Search is not conclusively capable of revealing whether or not (i) a winding-up order has been made in respect of a company or a resolution passed for the winding up of a company, or (ii) an
administration order has been made in respect of a company, or (iii) a receiver, administrative receiver, administrator or liquidator has been appointed in respect of a company, since notice of these matters might not be filed with
Companies House immediately and, when filed, might not be made available through the website or entered on the files of Companies House relating to insolvency details with respect to the relevant company immediately. In addition, such
searches are not capable of revealing, prior to the making of the relevant order, whether or not a winding-up petition or a petition for an administration order has been presented; and
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5.2
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the Central Index Search relates only to a compulsory winding up and is not capable of revealing conclusively whether or not a winding-up petition in respect of a compulsory winding up has been presented
since details of the petition may not have been entered on the records of the Central Index of Winding‑Up Petitions immediately or, in the case of a petition presented to a County Court, may not have been notified to the Central Index and
entered on such records at all, and the response to an enquiry only relates to the period of six months prior to the date when the enquiry was made. We have not made enquiries of any County Court as to whether a petition for the appointment
of an administrator has been presented to, or an administration order has been made by, any County Court against Tronox.
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Yours faithfully
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CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang LLP
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