Synthetic rutile has been produced in bench-scale tests on ilmenite concentrates collected from the Natashquan heavy mineral sands property on Quebec’s north shore.
Tiomin Resources (ME) developed the process at the Centre for Mineral Research in Quebec City.
Synthetic rutile is an upgraded ilmenite product which commands about $400 per tonne, five times the sale price of basic ilmenite concentrate. It is used to manufacture titanium pigments for the paint, plastics and paper industries.
Tiomin will now begin pilot-scale testing of the process, with annual production expected to approach 70,000 tonnes.
The company is finishing a pre-feasibility study on Natashquan, which has preliminary reserves of 1.6 billion tonnes grading 8% heavy minerals. Met-Chem, a consulting engineering subsidiary of U.S. Steel, is calculating the capital and operating costs of constructing a dredge and separation plant for producing zircon, garnet, magnetite and ilmenite. The firm is also incorporating the cost of a “direct reduced iron” plant for upgrading magnetite to salable iron, as well as a synthetic rutile plant for upgrading the ilmenite.
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