RUTILE1/ (Data in thousand metric tons of contained TiO2, unless noted) Domestic Production and Use: Rutile was produced at one mine in Florida. At two other mines in Florida, rutile was included in a bulk concentrate containing mostly ilmenite and leucoxene. The major coproduct of these mines is zircon. Synthetic rutile was produced at one plant in Alabama. The value of U.S. rutile consumption in 1995, including synthetic rutile, was about $240 million. Two firms, with facilities in Nevada and Oregon, used titanium tetrachloride primarily made from rutile to manufacture titanium. Of 16 consuming firms, mainly in the Eastern United States, 5 companies used 96% of the rutile consumed to produce titanium dioxide (TiO2) pigment. Welding-rod coatings and miscellaneous applications, which include fiberglass and titanium metal, consumed 4%. Salient Statistics--United States: 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995e/ Production W W W W W Imports for consumption2/ 226 299 349 311 300 Exportse 4 7 3 4 9 Shipments from Government stockpile excesses -- -- 1 18 17 Consumption: Reported 2/ 336 438 436 478 490 Apparent W W W W W Price, dollars per ton of rutile, yearend: Bulk, f.o.b. Australian ports 545 405 378 420 600 Bulk, f.o.b. U.S. east coast 628 NA NA NA NA Stocks, mine, distributor and consumer, yearend 197 140 179 141 130 Employment, mine and mill3/ 395 400 395 400 400 Net import reliance4 as a percent of apparent consumption W W W W W Recycling: None. Import Sources (1991-94): Australia, 50%; South Africa, 26%; Sierra Leone, 22%; and other, 2%. Tariff: Item Number Most favored nation (MFN) Non-MFN5/ 12/31/95 12/31/95 Rutile concentrate 2614.00.6040 Free Free. Synthetic rutile 2614.00.3000 5% ad val. 30% ad val. Depletion Allowance: 22% (Domestic), 14% (Foreign). Government Stockpile: Stockpile Status--9-30-95 Uncommitted Committed Authorized Disposals Material inventory inventory for disposal Jan.-Sept. 95 Stockpile-grade rutile (gross weight) 0.27 12.3 0.03 16.9 Prepared by Joseph M. Gambogi, (703) 648-7718. RUTILE Events, Trends, and Issues: Another record year of titanium pigment production resulted in a slight increase in the domestic consumption of natural and synthetic rutile. Total imports of the two forms of rutile decreased about 4%. Australia and South Africa supplied about 95% of total imports. Early in 1995, rebel forces took control of mining operations at Sierra Leone's sole producer of natural rutile. Although control of the mine was later regained by Government forces, the mine was not believed to be operating at yearend. The operation was the largest natural rutile operation in the world and supplied about one-third of the world's supply of natural rutile. Prices for rutile and synthetic rutile concentrates increased significantly in 1995. Rising prices were driven by the loss of Sierra Leone as a major source of supply and an upswing in global demand for pigments. The Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) continued its program to dispose of rutile held in the National Defense Stockpile (NDS). As of September, DLA had awarded almost all of the rutile held in the Government's NDS. Only 267 dry tons of rutile were left in the NDS as uncommitted inventory. Fewer environmental pollution problems are encountered when pigment is produced from rutile rather than ilmenite. The chloride process, using a rutile feed, generates about 0.2 ton of waste per ton of TiO2 product; the sulfate process, using ilmenite, generates about 3.5 tons of waste per ton of product. Producing synthetic rutile from ilmenite results in about 0.7 ton of waste, mainly iron oxide, per ton of product. Direct chlorination of ilmenite generates about 1.2 tons of waste, mainly ferric chloride, per ton of TiO2. World Mine Production, Reserves, and Reserve Base: Mine production Reserves6/ Reserve base6/ 1994 1995e/ United States W W 500 1,800 Australia 212 220 4,300 43,000 Brazil 2 2 40 85,000 India 13 13 6,600 7,700 Italy -- -- -- 8,800 Sierra Leone 131 40 3,100 3,100 South Africa 73 80 8,300 8,300 Sri Lanka 2 2 4,800 4,800 Ukraine 3 3 2,500 2,500 World total (may be rounded) 7/ 440 7/ 360 30,000 160,000 World Resources: Identified world resources of rutile (including anatase) total about 230 million tons of contained TiO2. Major rutile resources occur in Australia, India, Italy, Sierra Leone, South Africa, and the United States. Substitutes: Ilmenite, titaniferous slag, and synthetic rutile made from ilmenite may be used instead of natural rutile for making pigment, metal, and welding-rod coatings. e/Estimated. NA Not available. W Withheld to avoid disclosing company proprietary data. 1/See also Ilmenite and Titanium and Titanium Dioxide. 2/Includes synthetic rutile. 3/Employment at three sand deposit operations in Florida, which produced either rutile concentrate or a titanium mineral concentrate, where ilmenite and zircon were major coproducts and where employees were not assigned to specific commodities. 4/Defined as imports - exports + adjustments for Government and industry stock changes. 5/See Appendix B. 6/See Appendix C for definitions. 7/Excludes U.S. production. Mineral Commodity Summaries, January 1996