Titanium

• West Coast, Southland & Coromandel Peninsula contain Holocene beach and dune sands rich in ilmenite.
• West Coast South Island hosts an extensive 320 km-long coastline deposit from Karamea to Bruce Bay, with ilmenite concentrations of 10–25% in black sand leads and up to 6% in dune sands.
• Southland beaches (Coal River, Te Wae Wae Bay, Orepuki, Riverton, Rakiura/Stewart Island) also contain ilmenite.
• Associated heavy minerals: magnetite, garnet, zircon, rutile, and traces of gold, monazite, and rare earth minerals.

• Westport: 122 Mt of sand (4.5% ilmenite, 5.5 Mt contained ilmenite).
• Barrytown: 50 Mt of sand (13.8% ilmenite, 6.9 Mt contained ilmenite). Mining began at Westport in 2023, with Barrytown expected to start in 2024.

• Ilmenite and magnetite occur as stratiform segregations in gabbroic and dioritic intrusions.

• Mt George (Fiordland) – best-known site, part of a 90 km-long belt of gabbroic intrusions from Mt Soaker to Lake Poteriteri. Contains layers of magnetite-ilmenite with 3–25% magnetite and up to 2% sulfides. Magnetite concentrates average 1.2–1.4% V₂O₅.
• Other sites in Fiordland: Howitt Peaks, Mt Troup (Doubtful Sound), Wilmot Pass, Lake Roe, Bow Lake, and Lake Te Anau.
• Mt Pisgah (Northwest Nelson), Mt Tapuaenuku & Blue Mountain (Kaikōura Ranges) – ilmenite occurs in diorite and gabbroic rocks.
• Gabbro intrusions reach thicknesses of more than ~200 metres, hosting oxide-rich layers of magnetite and ilmenite.

• West Coast North Island ironsands contain 7–8% TiO₂, but recovery of titanium minerals has been unsuccessful so far.
• New Zealand Steel has explored producing a 40–45% TiO₂ concentrate from ilmenite, leucoxene, and rutile at Waikato North Head, for potential use in ferrotitania steel alloys.

• Titanium is as strong as steel but 45% lighter, making it ideal for aerospace and automotive applications, reducing fuel consumption and emissions.
• Used in aircraft frames, jet engines, and spacecraft components.

• Titanium naturally forms a protective oxide layer, making it highly resistant to rust, seawater, and chemical corrosion.
• Essential for marine structures, desalination plants, and chemical processing industries.

• Titanium is non-toxic and does not react with the human body, making it the preferred material for medical implants, such as:
• Artificial joints (hip, knee, dental implants)
• Bone plates and surgical instruments
• Used in prosthetics and pacemakers due to its durability and compatibility with body tissues.

• Alloyed with aluminium, vanadium, and iron to create strong, heat-resistant materials.
• Used in military applications, power plants, and sports equipment.

• Titanium dioxide (TiO₂) is a non-toxic, bright white pigment used in:
• Paints, coatings, and plastics
• Sunscreens and cosmetics (provides UV protection)
• Food and pharmaceuticals as a colouring agent

• Used in hydrogen production, energy storage, and next-generation batteries.
• Plays a role in photocatalysis, enabling self-cleaning surfaces and pollution reduction.

• The most important source of titanium globally, supplying most of the world’s ilmenite and rutile.
• Formed by weathering and erosion of igneous and metamorphic rocks, with subsequent sorting and concentration in coastal, fluvial, and aeolian environments.
• Often associated with other heavy minerals like zircon, monazite, and magnetite.
• Found in Australia, South Africa, India, Madagascar, Mozambique, and the USA.

Examples: Richard’s Bay (South Africa), Murray Basin (Australia), and Tapira (Brazil).

• Ilmenite and titanomagnetite are found in mafic and ultramafic intrusive complexes.
• Titanium is enriched during the crystallisation of large layered intrusions.
• Associated with ferro-titanium oxide ore bodies hosted in gabbroic, noritic, and anorthositic rocks.

Examples:

• Bushveld Complex (South Africa) – world’s largest layered intrusion with significant Fe-Ti-V deposits.
• Lac Tio (Canada) – world’s largest hard-rock ilmenite deposit.
• Tellnes (Norway) – large ilmenite-bearing anorthosite deposit.

• High-grade metamorphism can cause rutile and ilmenite to be concentrated in gneisses and schists.
• Often found in orogenic belts and high-pressure metamorphic terranes.

Examples: Eastern Blue Ridge (USA), Kazakhstan, and Brazil.

• Titanium minerals can be remobilised and concentrated by hydrothermal fluids.
• Lateritic weathering of mafic-ultramafic rocks can also enrich titanium, forming residual deposits.

Examples: Titanium-enriched laterites in Cameroon and Brazil.