IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/minecn/v34y2021i3d10.1007_s13563-020-00240-5.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

A detailed assessment of global Zr and Ti production

Author

Listed:
  • Cameron Perks

    (RMIT University, School of Engineering)

  • Gavin Mudd

    (RMIT University, School of Engineering)

Abstract

Titanium and zirconium are vital and often irreplaceable components of modern infrastructure and technology. As international trade routes are challenged, and consumers are increasingly aware of sustainable mining practices, it has become imperative to accurately understand where these minerals are sourced from and in what qualities and quantities. Despite investigation by various government groups, consultants, and scholars, there remain significant differences in global production assessments for titanium and zirconium minerals, particularly for ilmenite and titania slag. This paper investigates this by collating and analyzing publicly available historical data on a country and company basis, providing an analysis of production trends over time, commenting on emerging trends and their relevance to sustainable mining. To provide a complete picture of titanium and zirconium production, this paper also provides evidence of declining titanium and zirconium grades in heavy mineral sand mines. Despite there being some examples to the contrary, the majority of production data and reserve data from existing mines show that these deposits are experiencing declining grades. Overall, there remains a need for improvement in reporting of these minerals to facilitate a modern understanding of the sustainability of the sector.

Suggested Citation

  • Cameron Perks & Gavin Mudd, 2021. "A detailed assessment of global Zr and Ti production," Mineral Economics, Springer;Raw Materials Group (RMG);Luleå University of Technology, vol. 34(3), pages 345-370, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:minecn:v:34:y:2021:i:3:d:10.1007_s13563-020-00240-5
    DOI: 10.1007/s13563-020-00240-5
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s13563-020-00240-5
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s13563-020-00240-5?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Crowson, Phillip, 2012. "Some observations on copper yields and ore grades," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(1), pages 59-72.
    2. WorldFish, 2019. "Annual Report 2018," Monographs, The WorldFish Center, number 40826, April.
    3. Mudd, Gavin M., 2010. "The Environmental sustainability of mining in Australia: key mega-trends and looming constraints," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(2), pages 98-115, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Swart, Pilar & Dewulf, Jo, 2013. "Quantifying the impacts of primary metal resource use in life cycle assessment based on recent mining data," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 180-187.
    2. Florian Fizaine, 2019. "The Economics of Recycling Rate: new insights from a Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment," Policy Papers 2019.01, FAERE - French Association of Environmental and Resource Economists.
    3. Fizaine, Florian & Court, Victor, 2015. "Renewable electricity producing technologies and metal depletion: A sensitivity analysis using the EROI," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 106-118.
    4. Northey, S. & Mohr, S. & Mudd, G.M. & Weng, Z. & Giurco, D., 2014. "Modelling future copper ore grade decline based on a detailed assessment of copper resources and mining," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 190-201.
    5. Florian Fizaine & Victor Court, 2014. "Energy transition toward renewables and metal depletion: an approach through the EROI concept," Working Papers 1407, Chaire Economie du climat.
    6. Michael Priester & Magnus Ericsson & Peter Dolega & Olof Löf, 2019. "Mineral grades: an important indicator for environmental impact of mineral exploitation," Mineral Economics, Springer;Raw Materials Group (RMG);Luleå University of Technology, vol. 32(1), pages 49-73, April.
    7. Fizaine, Florian, 2020. "The economics of recycling rate: New insights from waste electrical and electronic equipment," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    8. Endl, Andreas & Tost, Michael & Hitch, Michael & Moser, Peter & Feiel, Susanne, 2021. "Europe's mining innovation trends and their contribution to the sustainable development goals: Blind spots and strong points," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    9. Pauli Lappi & Markku Ollikainen, 2019. "Optimal Environmental Policy for a Mine Under Polluting Waste Rocks and Stock Pollution," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 73(1), pages 133-158, May.
    10. Kleijn, René & van der Voet, Ester & Kramer, Gert Jan & van Oers, Lauran & van der Giesen, Coen, 2011. "Metal requirements of low-carbon power generation," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 36(9), pages 5640-5648.
    11. Dalala, Zakariya & Al-Omari, Murad & Al-Addous, Mohammad & Bdour, Mathhar & Al-Khasawneh, Yaqoub & Alkasrawi, Malek, 2022. "Increased renewable energy penetration in national electrical grids constraints and solutions," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 246(C).
    12. Lappi, Pauli, 2020. "A model of optimal extraction and site reclamation," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 59(C).
    13. S. Vögele & K. Govorukha & P. Mayer & I. Rhoden & D. Rübbelke & W. Kuckshinrichs, 2023. "Effects of a coal phase-out in Europe on reaching the UN Sustainable Development Goals," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 25(1), pages 879-916, January.
    14. Giulietti, Monica & Le Coq, Chloé & Willems, Bert & Anaya, Karim, 2019. "Smart Consumers in the Internet of Energy : Flexibility Markets & Services from Distributed Energy Resources," Other publications TiSEM 2edb43b5-bbd6-487d-abdf-7, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    15. Ruth Lane, 2014. "Understanding the Dynamic Character of Value in Recycling Metals from Australia," Resources, MDPI, vol. 3(2), pages 1-16, April.
    16. Ki‐Hoon Lee, 2017. "Does Size Matter? Evaluating Corporate Environmental Disclosure in the Australian Mining and Metal Industry: A Combined Approach of Quantity and Quality Measurement," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(2), pages 209-223, February.
    17. West, James, 2020. "Extractable global resources and the future availability of metal stocks: “Known Unknowns” for the foreseeable future," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    18. Saidia Ali & Farid Shirazi, 2022. "A Transformer-Based Machine Learning Approach for Sustainable E-Waste Management: A Comparative Policy Analysis between the Swiss and Canadian Systems," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(20), pages 1-22, October.
    19. Henning Wigger & Till Zimmermann & Christian Pade, 2015. "Broadening our view on nanomaterials: highlighting potentials to contribute to a sustainable materials management in preliminary assessments," Environment Systems and Decisions, Springer, vol. 35(1), pages 110-128, March.
    20. Mardi Dungey & Renee Fry-McKibbin & Verity Linehan, 2014. "Chinese resource demand and the natural resource supplier," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 46(2), pages 167-178, January.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:minecn:v:34:y:2021:i:3:d:10.1007_s13563-020-00240-5. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.