Titanium

Imagine a metal that is so strong yet lightweight, can resist heat, doesn’t corrode easily, and is even safe inside the human body. That’s Titanium — a silver-grey metal that plays a powerful role in today’s industrial world.

But here’s something curious:
Titanium is never found in pure metallic form in nature. It always appears as an oxide — which means it’s combined with oxygen. Think of how iron rusts when it reacts with air — that’s also an oxide. Titanium prefers to stay bonded with oxygen in rocks, soils, plants, oceans — even in meteorites and stars!

🛠️ Uses of Titanium

Because of its special properties — strong yet light, heat-resistant, corrosion-proof, and biocompatible — titanium is used in:

• Nuclear reactors and defence equipment (where both strength and heat resistance matter)
• Aerospace and marine industries (light but strong)
• Medical implants (doesn’t react with body tissues)
• High-performance alloys for construction
• Jewellery and electrical goods

🔍 Ores of Titanium

Titanium doesn’t come alone — we extract it from three major ores:

1. Ilmenite (Most Abundant)

• Appearance: Iron-black, heavy, metallic
• Composition: Iron + Titanium oxide
• Found in: Igneous rocks

2. Rutile

• Appearance: Reddish-brown
• Has higher titanium dioxide (TiO₂) than ilmenite — so more valuable
• Found in: Igneous and metamorphic rocks, often alongside ilmenite

3. Titanite (also called sphene)

• Appearance: Greenish to black
• Composition: Calcium titanium silicate
• Found in: Igneous and metamorphic rocks

🇮🇳 Titanium in India

Titanium-rich minerals like ilmenite and rutile are mostly found in beach sands — along India’s eastern and western coasts. Imagine the coastal strip stretching from Saurashtra (Gujarat) to Digha (West Bengal) — it hides these precious minerals.

Five key deposits in India are:

1. Chavara (Kerala)
2. MK Deposit (Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu)
3. OSCOM (Ganjam, Odisha)
4. Brahmagiri (Puri, Odisha)
5. Bhavanapadu (Srikakulam, Andhra Pradesh)

Indian Reserves & Production:

• Ilmenite reserves (as of 2020): 687.57 million tonnes
• Ilmenite production: 403 thousand tonnes (2022–23)
  • Odisha (61%) > Kerala (30%) > Tamil Nadu (9%)
• Rutile production: 14 thousand tonnes
  • Odisha (66%) > Kerala (20%) > Tamil Nadu (14%)

🌍 Titanium Globally

Now let’s step outside India.

Global Reserves of Ilmenite (2022):

• Total: 750 million tonnes (in terms of TiO₂ content)
• Top holders:
  • China: 210 MT (28%)
  • Australia: 180 MT (24%)
  • India: 85 MT (11%)

Global Reserves of Rutile:

• Total: 55 million tonnes (TiO₂ content)
• Top holders:
  • Australia: 35 MT (63%)
  • India: 7.4 MT (13%)
  • South Africa: 6.1 MT (11%)

Global Production (2022):

Ilmenite Concentrates – 13.2 million tonnes

• China: 5.1 MT (38%)
• Canada: 2.1 MT (13%)

Rutile Concentrates – 0.60 million tonnes

• Australia: 0.10 MT (16%)
• South Africa: 0.09 MT (15%)

🔁 Conclusion: Why is Titanium Important in Economic Geography?

• Titanium is a strategic metal — key for defence, aerospace, and high-tech industries.
• India holds significant reserves of both ilmenite and rutile but faces challenges in processing and production.
• Globally, China and Australia dominate both reserves and production.
• Understanding its ores, uses, and distribution connects physical geography (minerals and rocks) with economic geography (industrial and strategic utility).