SA milestone: R4bn titanium project

THE launch of a new R4 billion titanium beneficiation project for manufacturing titanium pigment at the Richards Bay Industrial Development Zone (IDZ) next month is a significant and commendable milestone in South Africa’s mineral beneficiation and industrialisation paths, said Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies.

The project would see Nyanza Light Metals, a South African company, extracting titanium from the waste steel slag and beneficiating it to produce titanium dioxide pigment which is a critical ingredient in paint manufacturing, the department of trade and industry said in a statement.

“This is a significant milestone in the implementation of the country’s industrial policy action plan and the national beneficiation strategy.” Davis said the project would have “a huge impact on the South African economy”.

The R4bn investment by Nyanza is good news for the country and the Richards Bay IDZ in particular. The project would be the largest single investment in the Richards Bay IDZ. About 550 permanent jobs would be created when the plant was operational, while 1 200 indirect and 800 direct jobs would be created during the construction phase. The construction of the plant would start next year. Production should begin in 2019.

South Africa exported most of the titanium in the form of titanium dioxide or slag to Australia and Europe where the value addition happened and then reimported the finished product.

South Africa consumed 35 000 tons per annum (tpa) of titanium pigment. The Nyanza project would produce 50 000 tpa of titanium dioxide pigment which it would sell locally and export to the rest of Africa and the Middle East, the department said. – ANA