A method for processing a powder material includes feeding a powder material through an additive processing machine to deposit multiple layers of the powder material onto one another and using an energy beam to thermally fuse selected portions of the layers to one another with reference to data relating to a particular cross-section of an article being formed. The powder material has spherical metal particles and a spaced-apart distribution of ceramic nanoparticles attached to the surfaces of the particles. The ceramic nanoparticles form a dispersion of reinforcement through the formed article.