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Kedia Minerals Products is a professionally managed global player in a business of acquiring processing and marketing Ilmenite Sand for the last 32 years. Based in the region of Jaipur in state of Rajasthan, India,
Ilmenite is a common accessory mineral in igneous rocks, sediments, and sedimentary rocks in many parts of the world. Apollo astronauts found abundant ilmenite in lunar rocks and the lunar regolith. Ilmenite is a black iron-titanium oxide with a chemical composition of FeTiO₃. Ilmenite is the primary ore of titanium, a metal needed to make a variety of high-performance alloys. Most of the ilmenite mined worldwide is used to manufacture titanium dioxide, TiO₂, an important pigment, whiting, and polishing abrasive.

Geologic Occurrence

Most ilmenite forms during the slow cooling of magma chambers and is concentrated through the process of magmatic segregation. A large underground magma chamber can take centuries to cool. As it cools, crystals of ilmenite will begin forming at a specific temperature. These crystals are heavier than the surrounding melt and sink to the bottom of the magma chamber.

This causes ilmenite and similar-temperature minerals, such as magnetite, to accumulate in a layer at the bottom of the magma chamber. These ilmenite-bearing rocks are often gabbro, norite, or anorthosite. Ilmenite also crystallizes in veins and cavities and sometimes occurs as well-formed crystals in pegmatites.

Chemical Composition of Ilmenite

Ilmenite's ideal chemical composition is FeTiO₃. However, it often departs from that composition by containing variable amounts of magnesium or manganese. These elements substitute for iron in complete solid solution. A solid solution series exists between ilmenite (FeTiO₃) and geikielite (MgTiO₃). In this series, variable amounts of magnesium substitutes for iron in the mineral's crystal structure. A second solid solution series exists between ilmenite and pyrophanite (MnTiO₃), with manganese substituting for iron. At high temperatures, a third solid solution series exists between ilmenite and hematite (Fe₂O₃).

Physical Properties of Ilmenite

Ilmenite is a black mineral with a submetallic to metallic luster. With just a glance it can easily be confused with hematite and magnetite. The differentiation is easy. Hematite has a red streak, while ilmenite has a black streak. Magnetite is strongly magnetic, while ilmenite is not magnetic. Occasionally ilmenite is weakly magnetic, possibly from small amounts of included magnetite.

Uses of Ilmenite

Ilmenite is the primary ore of titanium metal. Small amounts of titanium combined with certain metals will produce durable, high-strength, lightweight alloys. These alloys are used to manufacture a wide variety high-performance parts and tools. Examples include: aircraft parts, artificial joints for humans, and sporting equipment such as bicycle frames. About 5% of the ilmenite mined is used to produce titanium metal. Some ilmenite is also used to produce synthetic rutile, a form of titanium dioxide used to produce white, highly reflective pigments. Most of the remaining ilmenite is used to make titanium dioxide, an inert, white, highly reflective material. The most important use of titanium dioxide is as a whiting. Whitings are white, highly reflective materials that are ground to a powder and used as pigments. These pigments produce a white color and brightness in paint, paper, adhesives, plastics, toothpaste, and even food.