106 * Marine Minerals: Exploring Our New Ocean Frontier 



same name.^^ The six U.S. titanium sponge pro- 

 ducers import rutile, the raw material now used for 

 metal production in the market economy coun- 

 tries/^ primarily from Australia, Sierra Leone, and 

 the Republic of South Africa. Associated Minerals 

 (U.S.A.), Ltd., is the sole domestic producer of 

 natural rutile concentrate, although Kerr-McGee 

 Chemical Corp. produces about 100,000 tons of 

 synthetic rutile'* from high-grade ilmenite through 

 the removal of iron at its Mobile, Alabama, plant. 



Future Demand and Technological Trends 



Projected total titanium demand in 2000 is esti- 

 mated at 750,000 tons, an increase of 43 percent 

 from 1983; however, demand could range from a 

 low of 600,000 tons to a high of 1 million tons (ta- 

 ble 3-13).'^ The greatest percentage increase in 

 titanium demand is expected to occur in the use 



"'W. Harvey and F. Brown, Offshore Titanium Heavy Mineral 

 Placers: Processing and Related Considerations, ' ' OTA Contract Re- 

 port, November 1986, p. 3. 



'^Although the free market countries prefer to produce titanium 

 metal from rutile, the U.S.S.R and People's Republic of China — 

 which collectively produce 63 percent of the world's titanium metal — 

 manufacture metal from high-grade titanium o.xide slag made from 

 ilmenite. The process involves chlorination, purification, and reduc- 

 tion of titanium chloride. The U.S. could probably also use the same 

 process to produce titanium metal feedstock, or synthetic rutile could 

 be used. 



"Synthetic rutile is often referred to in the trade as "beneficiated" 

 ilmenite. A natural analogue of this material is "leucoxene." Slag- 

 ging processes are also used elsewhere to produce high-titanium di- 

 oxide, low-iron products from ilmenite. 



"^Although titanium demand is equated to elemental titanium con- 

 tent, the major proportion of domestic demand will be for titanium 

 dioxide. 



of metals, which is projected to increase over five- 

 fold, from 8,000 to 45,000 tons (this appears to be 

 an optimistic estimate). Nevertheless, non-metal 

 uses will continue to dominate the titanium mar- 

 ket, probably approaching 700,000 tons by 2000, 

 up from 515,000 tons in 1983. 



In contrast, domestic titanium mine production 

 in 2000 is projected at about 210,000 tons, an an- 

 nual growth rate of about 4.6 percent from the 1982 

 level of 98,000 tons. Cumulative domestic mine 

 production from the period 1983 to 2000 is pro- 

 jected to be 2.6 million tons titanium, significantly 

 less than the probable cumulative primary non- 

 metal demand of 10.5 mDlion tons. Most of the fu- 

 ture 7.9-million-ton shortfall is expected to be sup- 

 plied by imports, even though domestic reserves 

 of 7.8 million tons of ilmenite (contained titanium 

 equivalent) and 199,000 tons of rutile (contained 

 titanium equivalent) are considered sufficient to 

 meet about 80 percent of expected U.S. non-metal 

 demand in 2000. 



Although a major proportion of future U.S. mine 

 production is considered suitable for conversion to 

 metal with intermediate processing,'^ nearly all of 

 the titanium concentrates used for domestic metal 

 production are expected to come from cheaper im- 



°*These include intermediate products such as synthetic rutile and/or 

 high-titanium slags. Such slags have been made from American ores. 

 See G. Elger, J. Wright, J. Tress, et al.. Producing Cblorination- 

 Grade Feedstock from Domestic Ilmenite — Laboratory and Pilot Plant 

 Studies, RI-9002 (Washington, DC: U.S. Bureau of Mines, 1985), 

 p. 24. 



Table 3-13.— Forecast for U.S. Titanium Demand in 2000 



2000 



End use 1983 Low Probable High 



(thousand tons contained titanium) 

 Nonmetal: 



Paints 246 270 320 400 



Paper products 137 160 200 280 



Plastics and synthetics .... 66 80 100 140 



Other 66 57 85 116 



Total 515 570 700 940 



Metal: 



Aerospace 4 15 23 29 



Industrial equipment 2 -7 13 20 



Steel and alloys 2 5 9 13 



Total 8 27 45 62 



Grand total 523 600 ' 750 1,000 



SOURCE: L Lynd, "Titanium," Mineral Facts and Problems— 1985 Edition (Washington, DC: U.S. Bureau of Mines, 1986), p. 875. 



