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Scientists at our technology centre in Sorel-Tracy, Quebec, Canada, have found a way to get scandium – a rare and useful metallic element – from titanium dioxide production waste.
Here are 3 reasons why we’re excited about this breakthrough:
The United States, Canada, Australia and the European Union have listed scandium as a “critical mineral” – meaning it has some very important uses. But it is hard to get your hands on.
Scandium can be used in industries like aerospace, sporting goods, and clean technology too. In fact, it is one of the main ingredients used to make solid oxide fuel cells – a new clean energy technology used to power hospitals, data centres and factories, where a steady and reliable power supply is vital.
And even though scandium is found all over the world, it is usually in very small amounts and mixed up with other minerals and metals. So it can be hard to find, and even harder – and more expensive – to process. With our successful plant, we are able to create a scalable, high-quality, reliable and sustainable scandium source.
After becoming the first North American producer of scandium when we produced the first batch of high purity scandium oxide at our commercial scale demonstration plant, we’re now planning to quadruple our production capacity to reach up to 12 tonnes of scandium oxide per year, from the current nameplate capacity of 3 tonnes.
New modules will be added to the existing plant, which uses an innovative process to extract high purity scandium oxide from the waste streams of titanium dioxide production, without the need for any additional mining.
Using scandium oxide, we’ve developed high-performance aluminium-scandium alloys for use in a range of industries – from aerospace and shipping to sporting goods and 3D printing.
Scandium and aluminium are kind of like a good book and the beach. They are great on their own, but together they are magic. By mixing scandium with aluminium, you can make some aluminium alloys even stronger, more flexible, and more resistant to heat and corrosion. It creates a perfect metal alloy for everyday things that need to be light, strong and manoeuvrable – from sporting equipment like bikes, golf clubs and baseball bats to aeroplanes.
Through our new process, we can extract high-quality scandium from the waste created from making our titanium dioxide products. That means more of the materials the world needs, and less of the stuff we don't.
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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).
With your consent, our website uses cookies to distinguish you from other users of our website. This helps us to provide you with a good experience when you browse our website and also allows us to improve our site.
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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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