Related Research Articles
Sapphire is a precious gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum, consisting of aluminium oxide (α-Al2O3) with trace amounts of elements such as iron, titanium, cobalt, lead, chromium, vanadium, magnesium, boron, and silicon. The name sapphire is derived from the Latin word sapphirus, itself from the Greek word sappheiros (σάπφειρος), which referred to lapis lazuli. It is typically blue, but natural "fancy" sapphires also occur in yellow, purple, orange, and green colors; "parti sapphires" show two or more colors. Red corundum stones also occur, but are called rubies rather than sapphires. Pink-colored corundum may be classified either as ruby or sapphire depending on the locale. Commonly, natural sapphires are cut and polished into gemstones and worn in jewelry. They also may be created synthetically in laboratories for industrial or decorative purposes in large crystal boules. Because of the remarkable hardness of sapphires – 9 on the Mohs scale (the third-hardest mineral, after diamond at 10 and moissanite at 9.5) – sapphires are also used in some non-ornamental applications, such as infrared optical components, high-durability windows, wristwatch crystals and movement bearings, and very thin electronic wafers, which are used as the insulating substrates of special-purpose solid-state electronics such as integrated circuits and GaN-based blue LEDs. Sapphire is the birthstone for September and the gem of the 45th anniversary. A sapphire jubilee occurs after 65 years.
Titanium is a chemical element; it has symbol Ti and atomic number 22. Found in nature only as an oxide, it can be reduced to produce a lustrous transition metal with a silver color, low density, and high strength, resistant to corrosion in sea water, aqua regia, and chlorine.
Ilmenite is a titanium-iron oxide mineral with the idealized formula FeTiO
3. It is a weakly magnetic black or steel-gray solid. Ilmenite is the most important ore of titanium and the main source of titanium dioxide, which is used in paints, printing inks, fabrics, plastics, paper, sunscreen, food and cosmetics.
Titanium dioxide, also known as titanium(IV) oxide or titania, is the inorganic compound derived from titanium with the chemical formula TiO
2. When used as a pigment, it is called titanium white, Pigment White 6 (PW6), or CI 77891. It is a white solid that is insoluble in water, although mineral forms can appear black. As a pigment, it has a wide range of applications, including paint, sunscreen, and food coloring. When used as a food coloring, it has E number E171. World production in 2014 exceeded 9 million tonnes. It has been estimated that titanium dioxide is used in two-thirds of all pigments, and pigments based on the oxide have been valued at a price of $13.2 billion.
The Albany Research Center, now part of National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), is a U.S. Department of Energy laboratory staffed by Federal employees and contractors located in Albany, Oregon. Founded in 1943, the laboratory initially specialized in life cycle research starting with the formulation, characterization, and/or melting of most metals, alloys, and ceramics; casting and fabrication, prototype development; and the recycle and remediation of waste streams associated with these processes. Researchers at the laboratory routinely solved industrial processing problems by investigating melting, casting, fabrication, physical and chemical analysis and wear, corrosion and performance testing of materials through the use of equipment and analytical techniques. Since joining NETL, the laboratory has switched its research focus mainly to materials and processes for fossil energy production and conversion. The facility rests on 44 acres (18 ha) and occupies 38 buildings.
William Justin Kroll was a Luxembourgish metallurgist. He is best known for inventing the Kroll process in 1940, which is used commercially to extract metallic titanium from ore.
Arteixo is a municipality in the province of A Coruña, part of the autonomous community of Galicia in northwestern Spain. Its area is 93.76 km2 and its population is 31,005 (2013). Its population density is 317.43 people/km2.
Tahawus was a village in the Town of Newcomb, Essex County, New York, United States. It is now a ghost town situated in the Adirondack Park. Tahawus is located in Essex County within the unpopulated northern area designated to the town of Newcomb. Tahawus was the site of major mining and iron smelting operations in the 19th century. Although standing as recently as 2005, the last mining facilities have since been demolished and removed.
Kenmare Resources plc is a publicly traded mining company headquartered in Dublin, Republic of Ireland. Its primary listing is on the London Stock Exchange and it has a secondary listing on Euronext Dublin. Kenmare is one of the world's largest mineral sands producers and the Company owns and operates the Moma Titanium Minerals Mine. Moma is one of the world's largest titanium minerals deposits, located 160 km from the city of Nampula in Mozambique.
Iluka Resources is an Australian-based resources company, specialising in mineral sands exploration, project development, operations and marketing. Iluka is the largest producer of zircon and titanium dioxide–derived rutile and synthetic rutile globally. Iluka mines heavy mineral sands and separates the concentrate into its individual mineral constituents rutile, ilmenite, and zircon. Some of the ilmenite is then processed into synthetic rutile.
Arumpo is a locality in New South Wales, Australia, approximately 86 kilometres (53 mi) north-east of Mildura, Victoria. The Willandra Lakes Region, including Mungo National Park, is near Arumpo. The Tronox titanium/mineral sand mine is located 16 km south of Arumpo, trucking ore to freight trains at Ivanhoe, New South Wales.
Novaya Chara is an urban locality in Kalarsky District of Zabaykalsky Krai, Russia, located in the basin of the Chara River, in the eastern parts of Stanovoy Range, approximately 600 kilometers (370 mi) in a straight line northeast of the krai's administrative center of Chita, and 16 kilometers (9.9 mi) from the district's administrative center of Chara. Population: 4,315 (2010 Census); 4,693 (2002 Census); 8,787 (1989 Soviet census).
QIT-Fer et Titane is a Canadian mining company located in Quebec. The company operates an ilmenite mine at Lac Allard in northern Quebec, and in the southern Quebec municipality of Sorel-Tracy operates refining facilities that produce titanium dioxide, pig iron, steel, and other metal products.
Richards Bay Minerals (RBM) is a South African mining company. RBM's principal product is titanium dioxide in the form of an 85% pure titanium dioxide slag; the company also produces the higher-purity 95% titanium dioxide product rutile as well as pig iron and zircon.
Wah Chang Corporation was an American manufacturing company in the metal or alloy industry based in Albany, Oregon in the United States. Since 2014, it is a business unit of Allegheny Technologies and makes corrosion-resistant metals, such as hafnium, niobium, titanium, vanadium, and zirconium.
This is a list of countries by titanium sponge production based on USGS figures. The production figures are for titanium sponge, units are in metric tons.
The Tellnes mine is one of the largest titanium mines in Europe. The mine is located about 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) northeast of the Jøssingfjorden in Sokndal municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The mine has reserves amounting more than 300,000,000 tonnes of ore grading 18% titanium. The deposit of titanium was discovered in 1954 and production at the mine began in October 1960. Each year there is about 2,000,000 tonnes of ore and 1,600,000 tonnes of rock waste removed from the open-pit mine. This resulted in about 580,000 tonnes of ilmenite concentrate from the mine in 1999.
The Rødsand mine is one of the largest titanium mines in Norway. The mine is located in Møre og Romsdal. The mine has reserves amounting to 131 million tonnes of ore grading 4% titanium.
The Storgangen mine is one of the largest titanium mines in Norway. The mine is located near Sandbekk, Rogaland. The mine has reserves amounting to 60 million tonnes of ore grading 17-18% titanium.
The Koivu mine is one of the largest titanium mines in Finland. The mine is located in Central Ostrobothnia. The mine has reserves amounting to 62.2 million tonnes of ore grading 7.75% titanium. In 2012 it was acquired by Cove Resources.
References
- 1 2 3 "CIS Energy and Mineral Development". 1993. Retrieved 2013-06-20– via Google Books.