Displaying items by tag: titanium slag

Norway: TiZir Titanium & Iron plans to restart production at its ilmenite upgrading facility in Tyssedal in mid-January 2017. A fire took place at the plant on 15 August 2016 that required the furnace to be relined. The unit has a production capacity of 230,000t/yr of titanium slag and 100,000t/yr of high-purity pig iron. TiZir has agreed with its insurance company on a full and final settlement of US$35m. TiZir is a joint-venture between Eramet and Mineral Deposits Limited.

Iran: The Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization (IMIDRO) has released information about the Kahnuj titanium slag plant that was opened in November 2016. The unit has a production capacity of 70,000t/yr of titanium slag that will be used in the pigment industry, replacing foreign imports. Alongside this unit the 130,000t/yr Kahnuj titanium concentrate plant was also opened.

UK: Rio Tinto’s production of titanium dioxide slag has fallen by 24% year-on-year to 246,000t/year in the first quarter of 2016. The company said that its Iron and Titanium division had optimised production in line with demand. It reported that two of nine furnaces at Fer et Titane, Canada and one of four furnaces at Richards Bay Minerals, South Africa are currently idled due to low demand for high-grade feedstocks.

"In the face of a testing external environment, our focus remains on delivering further cost and productivity improvements, disciplined capital management and maximising free cash flow, to ensure that Rio Tinto remains strong," said chief executive officer Sam Walsh. Production in iron ore, bauxite and aluminium increased in the quarter but production in copper and coal decreased.

Saudi Arabia: The National Industrialization Company (Tasnee) plans to start commercial titanium slag production at its Ilmenite Smelter Project site in the Jazan Economic City in the first half of 2017. Commercial production will follow the project’s trial start-up in the second half of 2016. The announcement delays previous project dates due to the scale of the project and safety and quality issues.

Tasnee was unable to predict the impact the project will have upon its financial results due to the ‘current status of the titanium industry’. The project is a joint-venture between Tasnee and its subsidiary Cristal.

Norway: TiZir Titanium & Iron (TTI) has commenced shipments of chloride titanium slag. It is produced using ilmenite from the Grande Côte mineral sands operation in Senegal GCO. Both operations are owned by the TiZir joint venture which is in tern owned by Mineral Deposits Limited in Australia and ERAMET in France.

The ramp up of TTI operations follows completion of the furnace reline and capacity expansion project in December 2015. It is anticipated that the upgraded furnace and water-cooled copper-ceramic roof will increase smelting capacity by approximately 15% and improve maintenance performance by lengthening periods between scheduled shutdowns.

The sale of chloride titanium slag and high-purity pig iron from TTI represents the final step in the vertical integration strategy of the TiZir joint venture. The TTI ilmenite upgrading facility has been producing titanium slag and high purity pig iron since 1986. Its current production capacity is 230,000t/yr of titanium slag and 100,000t/yr of high purity pig iron.

Vietnam: Binh Thuan Mineral Industry JSC (KSA) on 26 December 2014 was given the investment certificate to start construction on a 60,000t/yr titanium slag processing plant. The plant, located on 0.11km² of land in the Thanh Hai Industrial Cluster, plans to produce titanium slag for export to Japan and South Korea, where demand is high.

KSA has been building the infrastructure for the project for four years, from basic design and equipment selection to researching markets and preparing an appraisal for submission to the prime minister. To ensure material input, KSA acquired shares in companies that have existing mines or were already co-operating with existing mines. Thang Hai Industrial Cluster was the first in the country to specialise in titanium processing and is considered Vietnam's first titanium industry hub.