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When metal has to perform in extremely cold environments, like outer space, or in extremely hot ones, like an airplane engine, titanium can be the only metal for the job – because of its high strength and light weight. Much for the same reason, it is used in hip and knee replacements, as well as high-end jewellery and even golf clubs. A compound of titanium and oxygen was first discovered in 1791 by the English chemist and mineralogist William Gregor – who named the new element “Gregorite”. It was independently rediscovered four years later by the German chemist Martin Heinrich Klaproth, who named it titanium after the “Titans” of Greek mythology. Today, titanium dioxide is often used to whiten a wide range of products, from paint and textiles to paper. This whiteness is due to the fact that titanium oxide absorbs ultraviolet rays and reflects 96% of light – why it makes our white walls whiter, and why it is used in sunscreen.
Titanium dioxide is a very white, opaque compound, used as a pigment in paints, plastics and paper. It is also used to produce toothpaste, sunscreen and cosmetics. Most of our titanium production is destined for the automotive industry, which uses it to manufacture complex mechanical parts. When it is smelted and processed into metallic form, titanium is light, resilient and corrosion-resistant. It is used to make seats, valve guides and precision parts, such as synchronisation hubs and assorted mechanical devices. And because it is lightweight, it can also help reduce fuel consumption, letting planes and cars go farther with less impact on our environment. Our 70-year-old RTIT Quebec Operations (RTIT) operation in Quebec, Canada, pioneered the process of removing iron and titanium from ilmenite. The RTIT Havre-Saint-Pierre mine in eastern Quebec is home to the largest ilmenite deposit in the world. The ilmenite is then transported to our Sorel-Tracy metallurgic complex, just over an hour from Montreal, for processing into iron and titanium. The large complex – as big as 100 American football fields – also houses a technology centre. In South Africa, Richards Bay Minerals launched in 1976 and today is a world leader in heavy mineral sands extraction and refining, and the country’s largest mineral sands producer. We mine the vast mineral rich sands of the northern KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa and produce predominantly rutile, zircon, titania slag, titanium dioxide feedstock and high purity iron. QIT Madagascar Minerals (QMM), near Fort Dauphin in the Anosy region of southeastern Madagascar, produces ilmenite, rutile and zircon. QMM includes the deep-water Port d’Ehoala, where the raw material is shipped to RTIT Quebec Operations in Canada and processed into titanium dioxide. QMM is a joint venture between Rio Tinto (80%) and the government of Madagascar (20%).
RTIT operates an open cast titanium dioxide mine at Lac Tio near Havre-Saint-Pierre and, at its metallurgical complex in Sorel-Tracy, extracts high-quality titanium dioxide feedstock, pig iron, steel and metal powders from the ore.
At our operations in Canada, our main product is titanium dioxide concentrate or titaniferous slag, which we sell as a raw material to titanium dioxide pigment producers. We currently produce three registered trademark products:
SORELSLAG® has a titanium dioxide content of approximately 80%. It is sold primarily to pigment producers that use the sulphate process. SORELSLAG® provides these customers with an environmentally friendly way of minimising waste generation. We are the world's leading supplier of high-grade feedstock for titanium pigment producers that use the sulphate process.
UGS™ is an upgraded slag, with a titanium dioxide content of approximately 95%. It is sold primarily to titanium dioxide pigment producers that use the chloride process and to titanium metal producers.
RTCS™ has a titanium dioxide content of about 90% and is sold primarily to titanium dioxide pigment producers that use the chloride process.
At our operations in South Africa, we produce:
Rutile: used in welding rod fluxes, or processed into its titanium metal form. In this form it is used extensively in the aerospace and aviation industries because of its lightness, strength, corrosion and heat resistance. These properties also make it ideal for use in artificial hip joints and pacemakers.
Titania Slag: the titanium dioxide contained in titania slag is used to create a pure white, highly refractive, ultraviolet light-absorbing pigment. The pigment is used in products such as foodstuff, pharmaceuticals (including toothpaste) and cosmetics, as well as in paint, plastics, textiles and inks.
Zircon: used in the production of ceramic tiles and sanitary ware. Refined to zirconia, it is used in a wide range of advanced ceramics, refractories, jewellery, electronic applications and many other industrial and domestic products. Zircon sand is also used in the foundry industry.
Ilmenite: the primary mineral used to produce titanium.
E: RTIT Sales
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With the exception of the use of cookies (explained below), Rio Tinto generally does not seek to collect personal data through this website. However if you choose to provide personal data to Rio Tinto through this website (for example, by sending us an email), we will process that personal data to answer your query and if relevant, to manage our business relationship with you or your company. We won't process that personal data for other purposes except where required to meet our legal obligations or otherwise as authorised by law and notified to you.
Part 1 of this Privacy Policy contains the Rio Tinto Data Privacy Standard, which provides an overview of Rio Tinto’s approach to personal data processing. There is additional information in the appendices to the Data Privacy Standard, including information about disclosures, trans-border data transfers, the exercise of data subject rights and how to make complaints or obtain further information relating to Rio Tinto’s processing of your personal data.
If you choose to subscribe to our media releases or other communications, you can unsubscribe at any time (by following the instructions in the email or by contacting us at digital.comms@riotinto.com).
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As some data privacy laws regulate IP addresses and other information collected through the use of cookies as personal data, Rio Tinto’s processing of such personal data needs to comply with its Data Privacy Standard (see Part 1 of this Privacy Policy), and also applicable data privacy laws.
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