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.