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Titanium: Past, Present, and Future (1983)

Chapter: Appendix E: Types of Titanium Ore Deposits

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Suggested Citation:"Appendix E: Types of Titanium Ore Deposits." National Research Council. 1983. Titanium: Past, Present, and Future. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1712.
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Suggested Citation:"Appendix E: Types of Titanium Ore Deposits." National Research Council. 1983. Titanium: Past, Present, and Future. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1712.
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Suggested Citation:"Appendix E: Types of Titanium Ore Deposits." National Research Council. 1983. Titanium: Past, Present, and Future. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1712.
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Suggested Citation:"Appendix E: Types of Titanium Ore Deposits." National Research Council. 1983. Titanium: Past, Present, and Future. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1712.
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Suggested Citation:"Appendix E: Types of Titanium Ore Deposits." National Research Council. 1983. Titanium: Past, Present, and Future. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1712.
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Page 187
Suggested Citation:"Appendix E: Types of Titanium Ore Deposits." National Research Council. 1983. Titanium: Past, Present, and Future. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1712.
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Appendix E TYPES OF TITANIUM ORE DEPOSI IS Ilmenite and Leucoxene The primary occurrence of ilmenite (Table 44) is in association with magnetite (Fe3O4) and hematite (Fe2O3) in hard rock deposits. Such t itaniferous ores are highly variable in ilmenite and iron oxide content; in the size and physical interlocking of ilmenite and iron oxide mineral part icles; and in associated oxides, sulf ides, and silicates that include vanadium, chromium, nickel, aluminum, calcium, magnesium, zirconium, and other elements. Ilmenite and associated leucoxene also occur in beach and alluvial sands that are the erosional remnants of formerly massive or disseminated hard rock deposits. Conditions that favor natural upgrading of ilmenite to leucoxene in placer deposits are a tropical climate and location above the water table. Rut lie and Anatase Commercial occurrences of rutile (and of its not yet commercialized, slightly softer and lighter sister oxide, anatase) are mostly in beach sand deposits in which they are associated with ilmenite and leucoxene and with several other hard and heavy minerals. Rutile and anatase also are common components of complex igneous rocks but rarely at a high enough grade for commercial recovery (Tables 45 and 46~. Rutile is a component of the U. S. National Stockpile. Its chemical and physical specifications appear in Appendix G. Perovskite and Sphene Although occurrence of perovskite and sphene in complex igneous rocks is not uncommon, neither mineral is produced commercially. A commercial future for perovskite appears more likely than f or sphene because perovskite is richer in TiO2 and has only calcium as its main troublesome impurity. Sphene, on the other hand, contains as major components, calcium and silica, both problem impuritie s. 183

184 TABLE 44 World Ilmenite Resource pa (million short tons of contained t itanium) b Lo cation ReservesOtherTotal North America Canada 4 93786 Co sta Rica -11 United States 1779c9 6 Subtotal 66117180 South America Argentina -11 Bra zi 1 123 Uruguay -22 Subtotal 156 Europe Pi eland 314 Norway 4054 5 Soviet Union 41620 Subtotal 47226 9 Af rice Ma zambique -1313 Senegal -22 South Af rice, Republic of 33117150 Tanzani a -44 Egypt 1910 Upper Volta -44 Other -11 Subtotal 35150180 Asia India S O Indonesia Malaysia Sri Lanka 1 Other - Subtotal 51 Oceania 80 130 1 1 1 1 2 135 An stralia 18 9 27 New Zealand ~ 7 7 Subtotal 18 16 34 World Total (rounded ~220 390 600 a b c Resource data deriv . in consultation with the U.S. Geological Survey . Individual items may not add up to totals because of independent rounding . Includes perovskite deposits in Colorado. Source: U . S . Bureau of Mines 1980 .

185 TABLE 45 World Rutile Resources a ~ thousand short tons of contained t itanium~b Location ReservesOtherTo tat North America Canada -200200 Mexico -2, 9002, 900 IJnited States 1,0007,6008,600 Subtotal1, 00010, 70011, 70 0 South America BrazilE 60,00040,000100,000 Uruguay _-_ - _ Subtotal 60,00040,000100,000 Europe Italy 2,7004,5007,200 USSR 1 6001, 5003, 100 Subtotal4,3006,00010,000 Af rice Mozambique -1,2001,200 Senegal -100100 Si erra Le one 1 ,80016, 000IS, 000 South Af rice, Republic of3, 2003003, 500 South-Wes t Af rice - d d Subtotal 5,000 18, 000 22, 800 Asia India 5,000 12,000 17,000 Sri Lanka 200 100 300 Subtotal 5,000 12,000 17, 000 Oceania Australia 6~000 1,600 7,600 World Total (rounded) 81,000 88,000 169,000 a Resource data derived in consultation with the U.S. Geological Survey b Individual items may not add up to totals because of independent rounding. c Mainly anatase deposits. d Le ss than 50,000 tons. Source: U . S . Bureau of Mines 1980

186 TABLE 46 U. S. Titanium Resources a (thousand short tons of contained t itanium~b Reserves Other State Ilmenite Rutile IL~neniteERutile Ari zone Arkansas Calif orni Colorado Florida Georgia Id aho Minnesota New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina Oklahoma 3,500 2 9, ooo 2, 100 300 1,100 11,000 5,000 500 7,100 - 12,000 500 2,200 1,200 900 1,800 5,600 600 1, 400 300 1,700 Oregon South Caro line Tennes see Utah Virginia Wa shing ton Wyoming Other States -- - 800 100 3, 000 300 4,300 300 ~- Total Ilmenit e Rutile 2,700 --2,700 300 - - -300 100 800 100 100 100 200 2,600 600 3,000 300 4,300 300 3,500 29,000100 7,7001,400 1, 7 00400 1,100 11,000 6,700 500 19, 100 500 2,200 1, 200 900 2, 600 100 100 300 2,600 600 Total (rounded) 17,000 1,000 79,000 7,600 96,000 8,600 a Resource data derived in consultation with the U.S. Geological Survey. b Individual i tems may not add up to totals because of independent rounding . c Includes perovskite deposits in Colorado. Source: U . S . Bureau of Mines, 1980. Ti tanium in West Coast Sand-Gravel, Gold Placer and Silica-Clay Operations Po ssible recovery of heavy minerals was investigated by the U. S . Bureau of Mines in 36 sand samples taken at various plant sites in northern California (Games 1919~. TiO2 analysis of the samples and beneficiated product were converted to percent ilmenite. Only 0.05 percent ilmenite or less was found in most of the samples; a f ew

187 contained 0.1 to 0.5 percent ilmenite and one, a silica-clay operation at lone, Amador County, California, contained about 20 percent ilmenite in its tailings. A heavy minerals concentrate made on spirals was fractionated magnetically to yield a TiO2 product of 63.5 percent grade and about 68 percent recovery. The operation is on a leased site and data on the tonnage of the plant tailings has been withheld pending resolution of the tailings ownership. A subsequent sampling survey by the U.S. Bureau of Mines (Gomes 1980) of sand and gravel operations in central and southern Calif ornia showed two sands containing O. .6 to 1.2 percent ilmenite in the northern San Joaquin Valley, one containing 0.6 percent ilmenite in the Los Angeles area, and two containing 0.6 to 0.8 percent ilmenite in the San Diego area . A benef iciation test on the O. .6 percent ilmenite sand f ram the Lo s Angeles area, using spirals and low intensity and high intensity magnetic equipment, yielded a TiO2 concentrate that analyzed 43 percent TiO2 and 48 percent Fe2O3. Further test work might show that processing the ilmenite-bearing sands to produce a crude heavy minerals product at individual operations followed by centralized processing to recovery magnetite, ilmenite, gold, platinum, and even thorium-uranium may be worthwhile ~ Come s 1980) . A survey of sand and gravel deposits in Oregon and Washington (Martinez et al . 1981) showed 2.5 percent ilmenite in a sample from Moclips Beach, Washington. Beneficiation tests yielded a product analyzing 47 percent TiO2 and 3 percent Cr2O3. If the deposit is large enough to be of potential interest as an ilmenite source, tests to remove the Cr2O3 might be warranted. REFERENCE S Come s , J . M., G. M. Martinez , and M. M. Wong . 197 9. Recovery Byproduc t Heavy Minerals from Sand and Gravel, Placer Gold, and Industrial Mineral Operations, USBM RI 8366:15. Gomes, J. M., G. M. Marti nez, and M. M. Wong . 1980. Recovery of Byproduct Heavy Minerals from Sand and Gravel Operations in Central and Southern California, USBM RI 8471:20. Martinez , G. M., J. M. Gomes, and M. M. Wong . 1981. Recovery of By-product Heavy Minerals f ram Sand and Gravel Operations in Oregon and Washington. Report of Investigation 856 3. Washington, I) . C . U . S . Bureau of Mines. U. S. Bureau of Mines. 1980. Mineral Facts and Problems. Washington, ~ . C .: U. S . Government Printing Of f ice .

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