The key mineral sands products to be produced from our current assets are classified as critical minerals and include zircon, high grade titanium feedstocks, and monazite containing rare earths.
Mineral sands products are used in everyday life and demand continues to grow. The industrial applications span across households, defence, aerospace, medical, lifestyle, heavy industry, and technology applications. Demand is largely driven primarily by urbanisation, rising living standards, global growth, and an extensive array of industrial applications, including global electrification and renewable energy. Strandline’s customers are located across Europe, America and Asia.
Ceramic applications are the dominant end-use application, accounting for approximately 50% of global zircon demand. As well as the dominant ceramic application zircon’s properties of heat and wear resistance, high opacity and strength make it suitable for other applications including refractories, foundries and a number of specialised uses.
The TiO2 ores include rutile, leucoxene, chloride grade and sulphate grade ilmenite. The global TiO2 pigment market, which is used in paint, paper, plastics, textiles and ink applications, accounts for approximately 90% of all titanium feedstock demand, and therefore is a key titanium product offtake driver. High-grade TiO2 minerals, including those from the upgrading of higher-grade chloride ilmenite, can also be used to produce titanium metal applications used in aerospace, defence, medical devices, and jewellery industries.
Some mineral sands deposits host garnet and the rare earth containing mineral, monazite. Monazite is often sought after for the extraction of those rare earth oxides including Cerium, Lanthanum, Neodymium and Praseodymium. The rare earths are used in a multitude of modern applications, such as, flat screen television glass, rare earth magnets, silicon wafer polishing pastes (computer chip production), batteries, electronics, electric cars and catalytic converters. Garnet is typically used in abrasive applications.
