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Brazil & UK: Imerys – kaolin
FOCUS years. Of course, this synopsis overlooks the very rapid expansion in TiO2 pigment production in China, Saudi Arabia and Ukraine. ‘Informations Chimie’ quotes DuPont with an estimate of China’s current level of TiO2 pigment consumption at 600,000-800,000 tonnes/y. This is much higher than Millennium’s estimate of 400,000 tonnes/y, though admittedly that figure referred to full-year 2003. China’s TiO2 supply/demand balance will be radically altered when DuPont’s 200,000 tonnes/y plant comes onstream at DongYing. According to ‘IC’, this should be achieved in 2010, assuming that all the approvals from the Chinese Government are granted in a timely manner. Info Chimie Magazine, Sep/Oct 2006, (474), 18 (in French) & ICIS Chemical Business, 25 Sep 2006 & 13 Nov 2006, (Website: http://icischemicalbusiness.com) & Kemira Stakeholder Magazine, 9 Oct 2006, (3), 25 (Kemira Oyj, PO Box 330, FI-00101, Helsinki, Finland. Tel: 358 10 861. Website: http://www.kemira.com)
PLANTS Brazil & UK: Imerys – kaolin In July 2006, Imerys announced its decision to cease manufacturing paper coating grades of kaolin in Cornwall and to cease making hydrous kaolin in Devon, with the loss of about 800 jobs. (See ‘Focus on Pigments’, Aug 2006, 3 & Sep 2006, 4). So far, no detailed figures have been released on Imerys’ production. According to Industrial Minerals, the Imerys group produced 4 M tonnes of kaolin last year, operating at 80% capacity. Its wholly-owned subsidiary, Rio Capim Caulim (RCC) produced 1.05 M tonnes in 2005 – compared against 850,000 tonnes in 2004 and 600,000 tonnes/y during the early years of this decade. RCC’s capacity for coating grades is due to be increased next year, in order to compensate for the phasing-out of coating grades in Cornwall. Industrial Minerals, Aug 2006, (467), 6-7
France: Toyo Ink – organic pigments & functional masterbatches Toyo Ink has released further details of its global rationalisation and diversification programme. (See also
DECEMBER 2006
ON
PIGMENTS
‘Focus on Pigments’, Sep 2006, 4). The company has already invested €15 M in upgrading its organic pigment facilities at Oissel (France), including the installation of a quinacridone production unit. It now plans to invest more than €20 M in France. Until recently, Toyo Ink’s activities in Europe were essentially confined to pigments manufacture. But in Japan, the company also makes printing inks, dispersants, adhesives, resins, colorants for electronics, masterbatches and supplies active ingredients of natural origin. As part of the diversification programme, it now plans to install facilities for making plastic compounds and functional masterbatches at its Villiers St Paul site in France. While Francolor will continue to run the pigments business, Toyo Ink Europe Paris has been established to run the nonpigments and specialities businesses. Meanwhile, Toyo Ink has invested $50 M in new manufacturing facilities in China to help cater for the flourishing Chinese market. For the year to end-March 2005, Toyo Ink reported annual sales revenue at about €1.6 bn. It also reported that it had a global workforce of 6000 employees. Chimie Pharma Hebdo, 9 Oct 2006, (355), 11 (Website: http://www.france-chimie.com) (in French)
Kenya & Russia: Tiomin & Aricom – TiO2 feedstock China has emerged as the world’s second largest TiO2 pigment producing country, with more than 60 plants and an overall capacity of around 800,000 tonnes/y. Apart from the well-known deposits on Hainan Dao in the south of the country, there are no high-grade titanium mineral deposits in China. Many pigment producers have been obliged to import increasing quantities of ilmenite from suppliers based in Vietnam, India or Australia. Some have also used Canadian titania slag, supplied by Rio Tinto. Indigenous ilmenite production has also been raised to about 1 M tonnes/y, but there are indications that further expansion would be difficult. Against that background, major Chinese trading companies have been interested in arranging long-term
supply contracts for ilmenite from new sources in Africa and Russia. End-June 2008 has been set as the target date for Tiomin Resources (of Toronto) to open up its Kwale titanium minerals mine in Kenya (50 km along the coast, south of Mombasa). Scheduled production rates are: 330,000 tonnes/y of ilmenite and 75,000 tonnes/y of rutile. Last year, Tiomin announced that it had signed a contract with an unidentified Chinese company to supply 1 M tonnes of ilmenite from Kenya over the first five years after commencement of mine production. The contract includes a renewal option for a further 1 M tonnes of ilmenite over the second period of five years after start-up. The Jinchuan group, which is majority controlled by the Gansu provincial government and the Chinese Development Bank, has acquired a 9.9% stake in Tiomin, as well as contributing loan finance for the Kenyan project. Aricom plc, a company listed on London’s Alternative Investment Market (AIM), has been working to open up the Kuranakh titanium minerals deposit in eastern Siberia. It plans to commence production here by the end of 2007, producing 900,000 tonnes/y of titaniferous magnetite (containing 62.5% Fe and 8.0% TiO2) and 290,000 tonnes/y of ilmenite (containing 48.7% TiO2) over a mine life of 15 years. Aricom has signed contracts with China National Gold Corp to supply at least 360,000 tonnes of ilmenite over 18 months and at least 3.3 M tonnes/y of titaniferous magnetite over five years. The ilmenite contract was originally of shorter duration because Aricom was going to be using ilmenite itself eventually for captive TiO2 pigment manufacture at Tynda. However, it now looks as though the Tynda pigment project will be postponed, so the obvious next move would be to extend the term of the ilmenite supply contract with China National Gold. TiO2 Worldwide Update, Jul/Aug 2006, 14 (4), 11-16
Israel & Ukraine: Tosaf – masterbatch Tosaf (of Israel) recently opened a new black masterbatch plant at Donetsk (eastern Ukraine) and increased the capacity of its plant at
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PLANTS Brazil & UK: Imerys – kaolin In July 2006, Imerys announced its decision to cease manufacturing paper coating grades of kaolin in Cornwall and to cease making hydrous kaolin in Devon, with the loss of about 800 jobs. (See ‘Focus on Pigments’, Aug 2006, 3 & Sep 2006, 4). So far, no detailed figures have been released on Imerys’ production. According to Industrial Minerals, the Imerys group produced 4 M tonnes of kaolin last year, operating at 80% capacity. Its wholly-owned subsidiary, Rio Capim Caulim (RCC) produced 1.05 M tonnes in 2005 – compared against 850,000 tonnes in 2004 and 600,000 tonnes/y during the early years of this decade. RCC’s capacity for coating grades is due to be increased next year, in order to compensate for the phasing-out of coating grades in Cornwall. Industrial Minerals, Aug 2006, (467), 6-7
France: Toyo Ink – organic pigments & functional masterbatches Toyo Ink has released further details of its global rationalisation and diversification programme. (See also
DECEMBER 2006
ON
PIGMENTS
‘Focus on Pigments’, Sep 2006, 4). The company has already invested €15 M in upgrading its organic pigment facilities at Oissel (France), including the installation of a quinacridone production unit. It now plans to invest more than €20 M in France. Until recently, Toyo Ink’s activities in Europe were essentially confined to pigments manufacture. But in Japan, the company also makes printing inks, dispersants, adhesives, resins, colorants for electronics, masterbatches and supplies active ingredients of natural origin. As part of the diversification programme, it now plans to install facilities for making plastic compounds and functional masterbatches at its Villiers St Paul site in France. While Francolor will continue to run the pigments business, Toyo Ink Europe Paris has been established to run the nonpigments and specialities businesses. Meanwhile, Toyo Ink has invested $50 M in new manufacturing facilities in China to help cater for the flourishing Chinese market. For the year to end-March 2005, Toyo Ink reported annual sales revenue at about €1.6 bn. It also reported that it had a global workforce of 6000 employees. Chimie Pharma Hebdo, 9 Oct 2006, (355), 11 (Website: http://www.france-chimie.com) (in French)
Kenya & Russia: Tiomin & Aricom – TiO2 feedstock China has emerged as the world’s second largest TiO2 pigment producing country, with more than 60 plants and an overall capacity of around 800,000 tonnes/y. Apart from the well-known deposits on Hainan Dao in the south of the country, there are no high-grade titanium mineral deposits in China. Many pigment producers have been obliged to import increasing quantities of ilmenite from suppliers based in Vietnam, India or Australia. Some have also used Canadian titania slag, supplied by Rio Tinto. Indigenous ilmenite production has also been raised to about 1 M tonnes/y, but there are indications that further expansion would be difficult. Against that background, major Chinese trading companies have been interested in arranging long-term
supply contracts for ilmenite from new sources in Africa and Russia. End-June 2008 has been set as the target date for Tiomin Resources (of Toronto) to open up its Kwale titanium minerals mine in Kenya (50 km along the coast, south of Mombasa). Scheduled production rates are: 330,000 tonnes/y of ilmenite and 75,000 tonnes/y of rutile. Last year, Tiomin announced that it had signed a contract with an unidentified Chinese company to supply 1 M tonnes of ilmenite from Kenya over the first five years after commencement of mine production. The contract includes a renewal option for a further 1 M tonnes of ilmenite over the second period of five years after start-up. The Jinchuan group, which is majority controlled by the Gansu provincial government and the Chinese Development Bank, has acquired a 9.9% stake in Tiomin, as well as contributing loan finance for the Kenyan project. Aricom plc, a company listed on London’s Alternative Investment Market (AIM), has been working to open up the Kuranakh titanium minerals deposit in eastern Siberia. It plans to commence production here by the end of 2007, producing 900,000 tonnes/y of titaniferous magnetite (containing 62.5% Fe and 8.0% TiO2) and 290,000 tonnes/y of ilmenite (containing 48.7% TiO2) over a mine life of 15 years. Aricom has signed contracts with China National Gold Corp to supply at least 360,000 tonnes of ilmenite over 18 months and at least 3.3 M tonnes/y of titaniferous magnetite over five years. The ilmenite contract was originally of shorter duration because Aricom was going to be using ilmenite itself eventually for captive TiO2 pigment manufacture at Tynda. However, it now looks as though the Tynda pigment project will be postponed, so the obvious next move would be to extend the term of the ilmenite supply contract with China National Gold. TiO2 Worldwide Update, Jul/Aug 2006, 14 (4), 11-16
Israel & Ukraine: Tosaf – masterbatch Tosaf (of Israel) recently opened a new black masterbatch plant at Donetsk (eastern Ukraine) and increased the capacity of its plant at
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