Tiwest Joint Venture
Encyclopedia
The Tiwest Joint Venture is a joint venture between Tronox Western Australia Pty Ltd and subsidiaries of Exxaro Australia Sands Pty Ltd. The Tiwest Joint Venture is a mining and processing company was established in 1988 to extract ilmenite
, rutile
, leucoxene
and zircon
from a mineral sands deposit at Cooljarloo
, 14km north of Cataby
, Western Australia
.
Heavy mineral concentrate is trucked from Cooljarloo
, 1 hour and 15 minutes south to the Chandala mineral sands processing plant, near Muchea, 70km north of Perth
.
The concentrate is then separated in a modern facility known as a dry mill. This is done using a magnetic separation process.
Ilmenite is further processed on site in to synthetic rutile
, which is used by pigment plants all around the world. All other minerals are sold as they are.
Most of the synthetic rutile from the Chandala operation is then trucked to Kwinana
, 30 km south of Perth
where Tiwest has its own pigment plant.
The pigment plant produces titanium dioxide
, the best whiting agent known. It is used in paints, plastics, food stuffs and other materials.
Tiwest's corporate office is located in Bentley, five minutes drive south of the Perth
central business district. The corporate office houses its sales, marketing, accounting, corporate administration, information technology and other essential services.
A $100 million upgrade has recently been approved by the board of both companies to the Kwinana pigment plant. This will see production of titanium dioxide pigment increase by up to 50% by 2012.
Ilmenite
Ilmenite is a weakly magnetic titanium-iron oxide mineral which is iron-black or steel-gray. It is a crystalline iron titanium oxide . It crystallizes in the trigonal system, and it has the same crystal structure as corundum and hematite....
, rutile
Rutile
Rutile is a mineral composed primarily of titanium dioxide, TiO2.Rutile is the most common natural form of TiO2. Two rarer polymorphs of TiO2 are known:...
, leucoxene
Leucoxene
Leucoxene is a fine granular alteration product of titanium minerals. It varies in color from yellow to brown.It consists mainly of rutile or anatase...
and zircon
Zircon
Zircon is a mineral belonging to the group of nesosilicates. Its chemical name is zirconium silicate and its corresponding chemical formula is ZrSiO4. A common empirical formula showing some of the range of substitution in zircon is 1–x4x–y...
from a mineral sands deposit at Cooljarloo
Cooljarloo
Cooljarloo, also known as Cooljarloo Well, is a location in Western Australia. It is located at 30°39'S 115°22'E, around 170 kilometres north of Perth, and about ten kilometres north of Cataby. It is mostly known as the location of a major mineral sands deposit mined by the Tiwest Joint...
, 14km north of Cataby
Cataby, Western Australia
Cataby is a tiny settlement located some 170 km north of Perth, Western Australia on the Brand Highway. The area was apparently once called West Dandaragan , with the town of Dandaragan located 17 km to the east....
, Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
.
Heavy mineral concentrate is trucked from Cooljarloo
Cooljarloo
Cooljarloo, also known as Cooljarloo Well, is a location in Western Australia. It is located at 30°39'S 115°22'E, around 170 kilometres north of Perth, and about ten kilometres north of Cataby. It is mostly known as the location of a major mineral sands deposit mined by the Tiwest Joint...
, 1 hour and 15 minutes south to the Chandala mineral sands processing plant, near Muchea, 70km north of Perth
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
.
The concentrate is then separated in a modern facility known as a dry mill. This is done using a magnetic separation process.
Ilmenite is further processed on site in to synthetic rutile
Rutile
Rutile is a mineral composed primarily of titanium dioxide, TiO2.Rutile is the most common natural form of TiO2. Two rarer polymorphs of TiO2 are known:...
, which is used by pigment plants all around the world. All other minerals are sold as they are.
Most of the synthetic rutile from the Chandala operation is then trucked to Kwinana
Kwinana
Kwinana may refer to:*Town of Kwinana, a Local Government Area in Western Australia*Kwinana Beach, Western Australia, a suburb in Western Australia*Kwinana Freeway, a major road in Western Australia...
, 30 km south of Perth
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
where Tiwest has its own pigment plant.
The pigment plant produces titanium dioxide
Titanium dioxide
Titanium dioxide, also known as titanium oxide or titania, is the naturally occurring oxide of titanium, chemical formula . When used as a pigment, it is called titanium white, Pigment White 6, or CI 77891. Generally it comes in two different forms, rutile and anatase. It has a wide range of...
, the best whiting agent known. It is used in paints, plastics, food stuffs and other materials.
Tiwest's corporate office is located in Bentley, five minutes drive south of the Perth
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
central business district. The corporate office houses its sales, marketing, accounting, corporate administration, information technology and other essential services.
A $100 million upgrade has recently been approved by the board of both companies to the Kwinana pigment plant. This will see production of titanium dioxide pigment increase by up to 50% by 2012.