Titanium Projects Launched in Kerman Province

A research center for titanium pigment production became operational in the city of Kahnouj in Kerman Province on Tuesday.

First Vice President Es’haq Jahangiri, Minister of Industries, Mining and Trade Mohammad Reza Nematzadeh and the head of Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization, Mehdi Karbasian, were on hand for its inauguration.

“The research center, which is currently semi-industrial and operates a pilot pigment production line, was 30 years in the making due to lack of access to modern production technologies and adequate investment,” Karbasian, who is also a deputy minister of industries, mining and trade, said.

He added that the pigment project is currently equipped with a novel production technology developed by IMIDRO and an Armenian company.

Once fully developed, the production line is expected to produce 50,000 tons of titanium pigments per year.

Iran imports 40,000 tons of pigments worth $120 million per year, according to the IMIDRO chief.

The industrial material has a wide range of applications and is the most widely used white pigment because of its brightness and high refractive index. The most important application, which accounts for 80% of titanium pigment consumption worldwide, is production of paints and varnishes as well as paper and plastics.

The officials also broke ground on a titanium concentrate plant as well as a slag plant in the province later in the day. The two plants are expected to operate with a production capacity of 130,000 and 70,000 tons per year respectively to produce the primary raw materials required for pigment production.

They will require 3 million tons of titanium ore per year to operate, with the feedstock procured from the nearby Kahnouj Titanium Mine. According to Karbasian, the mine holds over 160 million tons of proven titanium reserves while the potential reserves are estimated to be 400 million tons.

IMIDRO plans to fund its titanium projects by selling over $94 million worth of Musharakah bonds—an Islamic mode of finance in which capital is provided by two or more parties for project development.

The projects’ total required investment is estimated at $142 million.

Titanium pigment is globally produced by the United States, Saudi Arabia, China and Germany. The ongoing projects in Kerman will enable Iran to join ranks and reap the profits of exporting this rare industrial material.