Empire Metals Produces Rutile-Type Titanium Dioxide at Pitfield in Australia

en.Wedoany.com Reported - Empire Metals announced that product development testing at its Pitfield titanium project in Western Australia has successfully produced uncoated rutile-type titanium dioxide pigment from high-grade weathered ore concentrate. X-ray diffraction analysis confirmed that all TiO₂ contained in the sample was in the rutile crystal form, and chemical analysis measured a TiO₂ purity of 97.6%, of which approximately 0.65% sulfur was identified by the company as anomalous residue from this test; after deducting this factor, the calculated pigment grade was approximately 99.2% TiO₂.

Pitfield's run-of-mine ore is dominated by in-situ weathered ore rich in anatase. Empire had previously produced a white crude anatase-type TiO₂ product with a purity of 99.25% through pilot-scale bench tests, and in June 2026 established the integrated "Empire Process" metallurgical flowsheet, employing conventional unit processes such as beneficiation, leaching, and refining. This round of testing further converted the crude anatase-type product into rutile-type pigment by optimizing hydrolysis and calcination conditions.

The company is currently continuing to optimize titanium hydrolysis, calcination, and impurity removal parameters, and will shift the focus of the next stage of research and development to surface coating technology, with the goal of producing refined coated rutile-type TiO₂ pigment suitable for architectural coatings. Empire has initiated cooperation discussions with technical consultants in the field of titanium dioxide surface treatment, and subsequent work includes product development, preliminary plant design, and capital cost estimation for the coating stage.

Empire cited data from TiPMC Consulting stating that the current global weighted average price of rutile-type TiO₂ pigment for architectural coatings is approximately US$3,250 per tonne, and architectural coatings consume approximately 2.3 million tonnes of TiO₂ annually, accounting for approximately 33% of global pigment production. The final finishing cost for further processing sulfate-process titanium dioxide from crude pigment into coated products is approximately US$250–320 per tonne, which does not include mining and front-end processing costs.

In addition to the pigment route, Empire is also advancing research with Murdoch University on producing titanium metal from TiO₂. The relevant high-temperature test apparatus has been built and entered the wet commissioning stage. The plan is to first use purchased TiO₂ feedstock to validate the molten salt electrolysis concept, and then test Pitfield feedstock. The current stage is scheduled for completion in early 2027.