Rio Tinto plc has announced it plans to expand capacity across its mineral sands business to capitalise on a strong outlook for the titanium dioxide (TiO2) industry, delegates at the TZMI Congress 2011 in Hong Kong were informed. MD of the company's iron and titanium arm, Jean Francoise Turgeon, said that Rio Tinto has such a belief in the market that it is looking to invest US$63M in bringing more capacity online in four of its projects. "Demand for higher-grade feedstocks is growing at a significantly higher pace than the market can currently meet," Turgeon explained. "There's been little feedstock investment in the last decade," he added. The project by Rio Tinto, named TiO4 will se the company increase nameplate capacity in its mineral sands projects in S Africa, Canada, Madagascar and Mozambique. The earliest new production could come online is 2017, and the first place the expansion will be likely is in Madagascar.
