en.Wedoany.com Reported - Construction has commenced on the first phase of Nyanza Light Metals' ilmenite-to-titanium dioxide (TiO2) pigment plant in the Richards Bay Industrial Development Zone (RBIDZ) in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, aiming to enhance the ilmenite value chain.
Company CEO Donovan Chimhandamba confirmed this to Engineering News & Mining Weekly at the Coatings for Africa exhibition held at the Sandton Convention Centre on June 25. Foundation piling work is underway, with the scheduled start date for TiO2 production set for the end of 2029.
The plant will process ilmenite produced from mining heavy mineral sands to manufacture TiO2 pigments used in industrial coatings, architectural paints, paper, and plastics, which command prices several times higher.
A multi-stage industrial platform linking titanium beneficiation with downstream battery materials production is part of the overall design. Nyanza has signed an engineering, procurement, construction, and operations management contract with East China Engineering Science and Technology Company, a subsidiary of China Chemical Engineering Group Corporation, and definitive product offtake agreements are in place.
The $870 million first-phase TiO2 project is funded by the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), the African Finance Corporation (AFC), and pan-African and local development finance institutions. The first phase is expected to employ approximately 3,000 people at peak construction and create 850 permanent jobs. The second phase is projected to generate 2,000 construction jobs and 600 permanent positions.
The second-phase battery materials and advanced chemicals project, planned as part of a $750 million downstream expansion, will be fully integrated with the first phase, utilizing process by-products. Plans include producing lithium iron phosphate, zirconium oxychloride, and fumed silica, designed as a closed-loop, high-value industrial materials platform.
The second-phase project has entered the bankable feasibility study stage, expected to be completed by 2028, and will proceed with the same engineering, procurement, and construction contractor. Project development and financing leadership will be handled by Afreximbank and AFC as joint mandated lead arrangers.
The project will be co-developed by Afreximbank, AFC, and South Africa's state-owned Industrial Development Corporation, with support from the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition and RBIDZ.
The overall strategic positioning of the plan aims to advance titanium beneficiation and value addition, downstream expansion into battery materials, export diversification, and industrial deepening. Nyanza describes the integration of its mineral beneficiation with battery materials production as positioning South Africa within the global energy transition and advanced manufacturing value chains. Its vision is to connect titanium resources with downstream applications such as energy storage, electric mobility, advanced materials, artificial intelligence, and computing supply chains.
