Ilmenite

Ilmenite

Formula: FeTiO3

Mohs scale hardness: 5–6

Specific gravity: 4,70-4,79

Application: Raw material for production of titanium

Ilmenite is the titanium-iron oxide mineral with the idealized formula FeTiO3. It is a weakly magnetic black or steel-gray solid.

  • Altered ilmenite forms the mineral leucoxene, an important source of titanium in heavy mineral sands ore deposits. Leucoxene is a typical component of altered gabbro and diorite and is generally indicative of ilmenite in the unaltered rock.

  • Magnesian ilmenite is indicative of kimberlitic paragenesis and forms part of the MARID association of minerals (mica-amphibole-rutile-ilmenite-diopside) assemblage of glimmerite xenoliths.

  • Manganiferous ilmenite is found in granitic rocks and also in carbonatite intrusions where it may also contain anomalous niobium.

Area of application: From the commercial perspective, ilmenite is the most important ore of titanium. Most ilmenite is mined for titanium dioxide production. Finely ground titanium dioxide is a bright white powder widely used as a base pigment in paint, paper and plastics. Metallic Titanium can be easily derived from it for uses such as aircraft and high-strength steel devices.

North America and Europe together consume about 50% of the world's titanium dioxide production. Demand by India and China is growing rapidly and may eventually surpass Western consumption.

Australia was the world's largest ilmenite ore producer in 2011, followed by South Africa, Canada, Mozambique, India, China, Vietnam, Ukraine, Norway, Madagascar and United States.

Although most ilmenite is recovered from heavy mineral sands ore deposits, ilmenite can also be recovered from layered intrusive sources or "hard rock" titanium ore sources.

The top four ilmenite and rutile feedstock producers in 2010 were (which collectively accounted for more than 60 % of world's supplies):

  • Rio Tinto Group

  • Iluka Resources

  • Exxaro

  • Kenmare Resources

The world's two largest open cast ilmenite mines are:

  • The Rio Tinto Group's Lac Tio mine located near Havre Saint-Pierre, Quebec in Canada.

  • The Tellnes mine located in Sokndal, Norway, and run by Titania AS (owned by Kronos Worldwide Inc.)

Ilmenite has been found in Moon rocks, and is typically highly enriched in magnesium similar to the kimberlitic association. In 2005 NASA used the Hubble Space Telescope to locate potentially ilmenite-rich locations. This mineral could be essential to an eventual Moon base, as ilmenite would provide a source of iron and titanium for the building of structures and essential oxygen extraction.

During the processing of ilmenite, plants use the following types of separation:

Other methods of separation:

References

  1. https://en.wikipedia.org

  2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ilmenite