Ch. 3— Minerals Supply, Demand, and Future Trends • 107 



ports. U.S. ilmenite reserves that could be used for 

 metal production are estimated to contain about 

 10 times the probable forecast of metal cumulative 

 demand of 490,000 tons by 2000. 



Titanium Metal. — Titanium is one of only 

 three metals expected to increase significantly in 

 consumption and intensity of use; its demand is 

 closely related to requirements for the construction 

 of military and civilian aircraft. The outlook for 

 titanium mill products through 1990 will depend 

 primarily on military aircraft procurement and on 

 the rate at which commercial air carriers replace 

 aging fleets. The intensity of use (ratio of use to 

 shipments) in the aerospace industry remained un- 

 changed during the period 1972 to 1982. It is ex- 

 pected that significant replacement of titanium by 

 carbon-epoxy composite materials — titanium's ma- 

 jor competitor for lightweight, high-strength air- 

 craft construction — will not occur before at least 

 1994. Titanium can be effectively used in conjunc- 

 tion with composite materials because their coeffi- 

 cients of thermal expansion match closely. Selec- 

 tion of titanium alloys over other materials for 

 aerospace applications generally is based on eco- 

 nomics and their special properties. 



Because of its corrosion resistance and high- 

 strength, titanium is likely to be increasingly used 

 in industrial processes involving corrosive environ- 

 ments, although price has been somewhat of a de- 

 terrent to expanded commercial use. Non-aircraft 

 industrial demand is currently showing strong 

 growth in intensity of use of titanium. Automotive 

 uses may also increase in the future. Currently, 

 however, the use of titanium metal represents a 

 relatively small amount of materials, and titanium 

 dioxide for use in pigments and chemicals remains 

 the major use in the United States. 



Titanium Pigments. — Demand for paint pig- 

 ments is projected to increase from 246,000 tons 

 of titanium in 1983 to a probable level of 320,000 

 tons of titanium by 2000, but may range as low as 

 270,000 tons or as high as 400,000 tons. By 2000, 

 metal and wood products precoated with durable 

 plastic or ceramic finishes could be used in the con- 

 struction industry, which would reduce or elimi- 

 nate the need for repainting, thus adversely affect- 

 ing demand growth of conventional coatings. 



Paper products are projected to consume about 

 200,000 tons of titanium by 2000, up from 137,000 

 tons in 1983. The United States is the world's 

 largest producer of paper, accounting for 35 per- 

 cent of total world supply. The industry seems as- 

 sured of continued growth, which should also be 

 reflected in increased demand for titanium pig- 

 ment.^' 



Some substitution by alternative whiteners and 

 coloring agents may be developed in the future 

 which could slightly offset growth of titanium pig- 

 ment usage, but it is projected that total pigment 

 consumption will probably reach 640,000 tons of 

 titanium by 2000. 



Because production of titanium dioxide pigment 

 by the chloride process results in fewer environ- 

 mental problems than does the sulfate process, fu- 

 ture trends are likely to be toward the development 

 of concentrates that are suited as chlorination feed 

 materials and for making metals. Future commer- 

 cial applications for utilizing domestic ilmenite to 

 produce high-titanium dioxide concentrates may 

 have the potential to make the United States self- 

 sufficient in supplying its titanium requirements, 

 should they prove economically competitive. Tech- 

 nically, such concentrates can be produced from 

 rutile, high-titanium dioxide ilmenite sands, leu- 

 coxene, synthetic rutile, and low-magnesium, low- 

 calcium titaniferous slags. Perovskite found in 

 Colorado also might be convertible to synthetic ru- 

 tile or titanium dioxide pigment. 



Phosphate Rock (Phosphorite) 



Properties and Uses 



Over 90 percent of the phosphate rock (a sedi- 

 mentary rock composed chiefly of phosphate min- 

 erals) mined in the United States is used for agri- 

 cultural fertilizers. Most of the balance of phosphate 

 consumed domestically is used to produce sodium 

 tripolyphosphate — a major constituent of household 

 laundry detergents — and other sodium phosphates 

 that are used in cleaners, water treatment, and 

 foods. Phosphoric acid is also used in the manu- 



°'U.S. Department of Commerce, 1986 U.S. Industrial Outlool< 

 (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1986), p. 5-5. 



