Titanium: Characteristics
Brilliant white pigment and an aerospace super-metal
What this tab covers The supply and physical characteristics of the commodity. Supply: current production, inventories and stocks, capacity utilisation, geographic and producer concentration, how fast supply responds to price, the project pipeline and capital spending, and logistics and export flows. Material: the physical and chemical properties that set its grade, price and end uses (for example purity and conductivity for metals, API gravity, sulfur and energy content for fuels, moisture, protein and fibre quality for crops).Supply volume characteristics
| Characteristic | Figure | What it means | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Current production volume | 9.8 Mt TiO2 content in ilmenite and rutile (2025e); 370 kt titanium sponge (2025e) | Ilmenite gave 9.4 Mt and rutile 0.45 Mt TiO2. About 90% of feedstock goes to white pigment and about 6% to metal. Sponge output fell from 380 kt in 2024. | USGS MCS 2026; Iluka (2017) |
| Inventory and stock levels | not published | Industry sponge stocks are withheld by USGS. The US stockpile plan listed 15,000 t of titanium as potential acquisitions for FY2025 and 136 t of alloy disposals. There is no exchange stock. | USGS MCS 2026 |
| Capacity utilisation | sponge about 79% (370 kt on 470 kt capacity, 2025e); world pigment capacity 9.9 Mt; LB Group pigment about 85% (1.28 Mt on 1.51 Mt) | China runs about 81% of its 320 kt sponge capacity; Japan about 81% (53 of 65.2 kt). World pigment output is not published by USGS, so pigment utilisation is known only at company level. Two US sponge plants (12,600 and 10,900 t/yr) are idle. | USGS MCS 2026 (derived); LB Group 2025 |
| Geographic and producer concentration | Ilmenite plus rutile: China 33%, top 3 (China, Mozambique, South Africa) 66%, HHI about 1,800 (2025); sponge: China 71%, top 3 92%, HHI about 5,300 | World Mining Data puts the 2024 TiO2 HHI at 1,987 (China 36%). Large producers include LB Group, Iluka, Kenmare, Tronox, Rio Tinto and Chemours, but no top-5 company share is published here. | USGS MCS 2026 (derived); World Mining Data 2026 |
| Supply elasticity | low to medium: 3-7 years for a new mineral sands mine; sponge plants can restart idle capacity in 1-2 years | Mineral sands projects need long permitting and dredge construction; when several arrive together prices fall, as in 2023-25. Sponge supply outside China is constrained by Kroll plant capital and by magnesium supply. | USGS MCS 2026; content of this tile (supercycle drivers) |
| Project pipeline and CapEx | new sands mines in Africa and Australia; US powder from scrap 1,400 t/yr by 2027 | A third US company began commercial ilmenite production at Stony Creek, Virginia in 2025. A Virginia company is scaling titanium powder from scrap toward 1,400 t/yr in 2027 with US funding. Projects in Mozambique, Senegal, Madagascar and Australia add feedstock. | USGS MCS 2026 |
| Logistics and export flows | world ore exports (HS 2614) about $2.0 billion; imports $3.5 billion (2024) | South Africa (30.2%) and Mozambique (17.8%) lead exports; China takes 43.3% of imports by value, and imported 3.8 Mt gross in January-September 2025, 47% from Mozambique. Bulk concentrate moves through Nacala, Richards Bay and Western Australian ports. Sponge for the US comes mostly from Japan (73%). | UN Comtrade 2024; USGS MCS 2026 |
Material characteristics Metal / hard commodity
Titanium has two markets with different physics. As TiO2 pigment it sells on whiteness and opacity, set by rutile's very high refractive index. As metal it sells on strength-to-weight, fatigue resistance and near-total corrosion resistance, which justify a price many times that of steel in aircraft, implants and chemical plant. Feedstock grade (TiO2 content and impurities) decides which process route can use it.
| Property | Value / specification | Why it matters | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feedstock grade (TiO2 content) | Ilmenite about 45-60% TiO2; slag 80-95%; synthetic rutile about 88-95%; natural rutile at least 95% | Chloride pigment and sponge need high-grade, low calcium and magnesium feed; low-grade ilmenite suits the sulfate route | USGS MCS 2026 (price bases); Iluka |
| Pigment purity and type | ISO 591-1 rutile pigments: R1 at least 97% TiO2, R2 at least 90%, R3 at least 80% | Sets use in premium paints versus fillers and paper | ISO 591-1 |
| Refractive index (opacity) | rutile about 2.7, anatase about 2.55 (calcium carbonate about 1.6) | High index scatters light, giving white coverage with thin layers; substitutes cannot match it | CRC Handbook |
| Density | 4.51 g/cm3 (CP titanium); Ti-6Al-4V 4.43 g/cm3 | About 57% of steel's density with similar strength, the basis of aerospace demand | CRC Handbook; ASTM B265 |
| Tensile and yield strength | Grade 2 CP: at least 345 MPa tensile, 275 MPa yield; Grade 5 Ti-6Al-4V: at least 895 MPa tensile, 828 MPa yield | Defines aerospace and implant grades and the premium paid for alloy | ASTM B265/B348 |
| Sponge quality (hardness) | ASTM B299 sponge grades such as MD-120: at least 99.3% Ti, Brinell hardness at most 120 | Hardness tracks oxygen and iron content, which decide whether sponge is fit for rotating aero-engine parts | ASTM B299 |
| Corrosion resistance | Passive oxide film; essentially immune to seawater and chlorides | Used in desalination, chemical plant and body implants where steel and aluminium fail | ASTM; CRC Handbook |
| Melting point | 1,668 C, highly reactive when molten | Requires vacuum or inert melting (VAR, EB), adding cost to ingot | CRC Handbook |