Namakwa Sands

Namakwa Sands undertakes the mining and beneficiation of heavy minerals. The operation is located on the west coast of South Africa and operates facilities at three separate sites. The mine and the concentration plants are located at the Brand-se-Baai, 385km north of Cape Town. Concentrate is transported to the mineral separation plant by truck. The mineral separation plant is located at Koeknaap, 60km from the mine. Here ilmenite, zircon and rutile are recovered before the products are transported to the smelter by rail. The smelter is based close to Saldanha Bay, 150km from Cape Town. Namakwa Sands operates two furnaces where ilmenite is smelted to produce titanium slag and pig iron. The Namakwa Sands operation started in 1994 and is one of the largest mineral sand operations in the world.

Titanium is the primary product of the mineral sands industry where it is mined in the form of ilemenite and rutile. Over 90% of world titanium dioxide production is used in the manufacture of pigment for paints, papers and plastics. It is also used for the production of titanium metal, welding rods, and titanium-based chemicals. Pig iron is produced as a co-product of titanium slag and is used in the foundry and steel industry. Zircon is used in ceramics, chemicals, refractories and TV glass.