Ilmenite Market Witnesses Upward Trend with Increasing Production of Modern Day Mechanical and Electrical Parts
Ilmenite is one of many ore types of pure titanium. These ores can be found everywhere in the Earth, although the distribution of these minerals is rather uneven, with some areas having higher concentrations of one than the other. TiO2 and FeTiO3 are the two primary ore forms. Irrespective of their origin, both ores are widely used for the production of a variety of modern day mechanical and electrical parts, which in turn is expected to aid in growth of the ilmenite market. Ilmenite is a metalloid comprising primarily of trace amounts of aluminum, tin and iron (although it is possible to find considerable amounts of copper and oxygen). The mineral is highly valued for its ability to create mechanical alloys with high strength-to-weight ratios. The main ore of titanium (in the form of titanium oxide) is very similar in composition to ilmenite, with the exception that it contains up to 10 times more tin than that of the latter, making it slightly less dense and more viscous. The main di...