Studies Confirm Sovereign's Natural Rutile Could Significantly Reduce Global Titanium Industry CO2 Emissions
Sovereign Metals Limited (“Sovereign” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce the results of Life Cycle Assessment Studies (“LCAs” or “Studies”) by UK based consultancy, Minviro Ltd (“Minviro”). The Studies showed substantial environmental benefits are possible by utilising natural rutile (TiO2) versus beneficiated high-grade titanium feedstocks made from lower quality mineral ilmenite (~FeTiO3) such as synthetic rutile and titania slag.
The titanium pigment industry is targeting reduced carbon footprints, reduced energy consumption (or a shift to green energy sources) and waste minimization. A shift towards natural rutile offers a simple and short time-frame opportunity to significantly reduce overall carbon footprint and total environmental impact.
HIGHLIGHTS
- The Studies show that Sovereign’s natural rutile (TiO2) could potentially eliminate significant global titanium industry CO2 emissions by displacing and substantially reducing the use of carbon-intensive upgraded alternatives.
- Up to 2.8 tonnes CO2 eq. for each tonne of natural rutile utilised could be saved compared to the upgrading/beneficiation of ilmenite, via smelting and chemical processes, to high-grade titanium feedstocks like titania slag and synthetic rutile, as shown by Figure 1 below from the LCAs.
Figure 1: Summary of the LCA outcomes with overall Global Warming Potential of upgrading ilmenite to titania slag and synthetic rutile (Source: Minviro)
- The global high-grade titanium feedstocks market is approximately 2.5mtpa, with natural rutile making up only 26% of the market, due to its current scarcity compared to lower quality ilmenite.
- Sovereign’s discovery of the very large Kasiya and Nsaru deposits represents a potentially major new source of global supply of high-grade primary natural rutile and an opportunity to remove significant CO2 emissions created by upgraded alternatives.
- Sovereign has established an Environmental, Social and Governance (“ESG”) Committee to ensure and integrate sustainability best practices and support the Board in unlocking a major new source of natural rutile.
Sovereign’s new ESG Committee Chair Ben Stoikovich commented: “The Minviro Studies confirm the positive CO2 impact of unlocking a new, globally significant source of direct feed natural rutile. We now have validation of the potential importance of Sovereign’s natural rutile to responsible investors and titanium industry companies needing to lower their carbon footprint. Our natural rutile deposits could help meet the growing demand for low carbon titanium feedstock throughout the titanium industry supply-chain.”
ENQUIRIES
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Dr Julian Stephens (Perth) Managing Director +61(8) 9322 6322 |
Sam Cordin (Perth) +61(8) 9322 6322 |
Sapan Ghai (London) +44 207 478 3900 |
BACKGROUND - Titanium Feedstocks
Natural rutile (~95% TiO2) is the cleanest, purest natural mineral form of titanium dioxide with the other major source being ilmenite (~50% TiO2). The genuine scarcity of natural rutile prompted the titanium industry to develop upgraded titanium feedstock products from ilmenite that can be used as substitutes for natural rutile (i.e. synthetic rutile and titania slag).
Two energy and carbon intensive processes have been developed to produce the upgraded synthetic rutile and titania slag. Both methods use ilmenite (~FeTiO3) as the raw source material and are essentially processes for the removal of iron oxide. From a technical perspective, natural rutile is generally considered a superior titanium feedstock over synthetic rutile and titania slag due to its high purity and high TiO2 content.
The downstream processes (i.e., pigment production) rely heavily on the use of upgraded titanium feedstocks such as synthetic rutile and titania slag, each having an associated substantial environmental impact.
Figure 2. Natural rutile versus synthetic rutile and titania slag
summary of MINVIRO’s STUDIES OF LCA for UPGRADED TITANIUM FEEDSTOCKS
Naturally occurring rutile (~95 TiO2), as found at the Company’s flagship Kasiya deposit and recently discovered Nsaru deposit, is the lowest carbon and lowest waste-producing natural form of titanium dioxide – the other major titanium source mineral being ilmenite (~50 TiO2).
For downstream manufacturers of titanium products (including titanium pigment producers) focused on lowering their carbon footprint, natural rutile presents a preferred feedstock over higher energy and carbon-intensive “upgraded” titanium feedstocks synthetic rutile and titania slag.
In line with its Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Strategy, Sovereign appointed UK-based consultancy, Minviro Ltd. to carry out gate-to-gate Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs) for the production of upgraded titanium feedstocks, namely:
- Synthetic rutile (+88% TiO2) – produced from ilmenite via the Becher Process in Australia; and
- Titania slag (+85% TiO2) – produced from ilmenite via smelting in electric furnaces in South Africa.
The purpose of the LCAs is to quantify the Global Warming Potential (GWP) for the production of one kilogram of each upgraded feedstock. The Studies were conducted by Minviro according to the requirements of the ISO-104040:2006 and ISO-14044:2006 standards.
natural rutile could DISPLACE CARBON INTENSIVE FEEDSTOCKS
“Direct use” natural rutile currently makes up just ~26% of the total high-grade titanium pigment feedstock market, with ~74% of the market made up of upgraded alternatives.
Figure 3. High-grade titanium feedstocks (+80% TiO2) by supply type (Source: TZMI/Iluka, based on 2018 data)
The majority of high-grade titanium pigment feedstock is produced by five major producers controlling over 84% of the total market.
Figure 4. Major producers of high-grade titanium feedstock (+80% TiO2) & percentage of sales as upgraded and direct use (i.e. natural rutile) (Source: TZMI/Iluka, based on 2018 data)
Due to growing environmental pressures, and with the significant carbon footprints of numerous industry players related to pyrometallurgical ilmenite upgrading operations, Sovereign’s natural rutile product is well positioned to disrupt the titanium supply chain with the ability to displace and reduce the use of carbon and waste-intensive upgraded alternative titanium feedstocks.
Sovereign Metals – A world class discovery of a GENUINELY SCARCE COMMODITY
In September 2020, Sovereign announced stand-out metallurgical test-work results from bulk sample (1,000kg) taken from its very large, high grade rutile deposit Kasiya. Using a simple, conventional process flow sheet similar to that used to produce ilmenite feedstock, Sovereign’s bulk sample material was able to produce a premium quality 96.3% TiO2 natural rutile product with low impurities and a 98% recovery. Sovereign has since established that the Kasiya and recently discovered Nsaru deposits represent significant potential to become a major new source of global supply of high-grade primary natural rutile.
Natural rutile is traditionally a by-product from mineral sands mining where ilmenite is the dominant mineral in the assemblage, alongside minor grades of natural rutile and zircon. Rutile is therefore considered to be a genuinely scarce commodity, with no other primary rutile deposits being discovered in the last half century. Since typically natural rutile is produced as a by-product, mining companies cannot selectively mine additional natural rutile in response to market demand, and hence have developed energy intensive downstream processes to upgrade ilmenite into substitute products for natural rutile.
Current sources of natural rutile are in decline as several operations’ reserves are depleting concurrently with declining ore grades, for example Iluka Resources Limited’s Lanti and Gangema operations in Sierra Leone and Base Resources Limited’s Kwale operations in Kenya. Further to this, limited new deposits are forecast to come online in the short to medium term, and supplies of natural rutile are likely to continue to be in structural deficit.
Figure 5. Global supply and demand for natural rutile (actual and forecasted) (Source: TZMI)
The complete English press release is available at:
Competent Person Statements
The information in this report that relates to Metallurgical Results (rutile) is extracted from an announcement on 9 September 2020 This announcement is available to view on www.sovereignmetals.com.au. The information in the original announcement that related to Metallurgical Results was based on, and fairly represents, information compiled by Mr Gavin Diener, a Competent Person who is a member of the AusIMM. Mr Diener is the Chief Operating Officer of TZMI, an independent mineral sands consulting company and is not a holder of any equity type in Sovereign Metals Limited. Mr Diener has sufficient experience that is relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity being undertaken, to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the 2012 Edition of the 'Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves'. The Company confirms that it is not aware of any new information or data that materially affects the information included in the original market announcements. The Company confirms that the form and context in which the Competent Person’s findings are presented have not been materially modified from the original market announcement.
Forward Looking Statement
This release may include forward-looking statements, which may be identified by words such as "expects", "anticipates", "believes", "projects", "plans", and similar expressions. These forward-looking statements are based on Sovereign’s expectations and beliefs concerning future events. Forward looking statements are necessarily subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, many of which are outside the control of Sovereign, which could cause actual results to differ materially from such statements. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be correct. Sovereign makes no undertaking to subsequently update or revise the forward-looking statements made in this release, to reflect the circumstances or events after the date of that release.
