Cameroon Selling 90% of Rutile Alluvial Sands Concession

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Researched by Industrialinfo.com (Industrial Information Resources, Incorporated; Houston, Texas). The West African state of Cameroon is putting 90% of the Akonolinga rutile project up for sale. The country's new mining code stipulates that the state can no longer hold more than 10% of any mining venture.

Reserves of 764,000 tons of rutile rich alluvial sands have been certified using small specialized drilling rigs in a mining concession area of 30,000 sq km of which the title is currently owned by Serak which is made up of BRGM - Mineral Resources of France 52% and the Cameroon government 48%. BRGM is France's public institution responsible for working to advance earth sciences in strategic areas and to assist and support in their development. It runs a Scientific and Technical Center in Orleans with a staff of around 900.

An additional indicated resource of about 2.2 million tons gives the total project a potential of more than three million tons rutile rich alluvial sands at an average grade of 1% rutile. The area covers only a portion of the Serak exploration license territory. The deposits occur as modern alluvial sands, 1.5 meters to 4.5 meters thick, lining river valley bottoms which are topped by about 1.5 meters of soil and clay, which is topped by a vegetation cover.

Specially adapted floating cutter section dredges with wet pre-concentration on adjacent floating barges are seen as the components of the extraction method. After dry process concentration in a nearby plant, the product can be trucked to Douala, Cameroon's principal port, which is a one-day (400km) drive away on an all-asphalt road.

Cameroon rutile is a high-grade source, which can be processed using only the more environmentally acceptable chlorine reaction process. There are massive global reserves of rutile and its direct competitors, synthetic rutile, and chlorinateable slag. The attraction of rutile is that it is the purest naturally occurring titanium based mineral, having a composition of 92%-95% of titanium oxide. The other titanium-bearing mineral suitable for commercial purposes is ilmenite, which also contains significant iron and has a titanium oxide content of between 35% and 60%. The principal uses of titanium feedstocks are white rutile pigment, welding electrodes, ceramics, and chemicals.

The rutile chlorine reaction process produces 200kg of waste per ton, whereas the sulphateable ilmenite and titanium slag, which make up about 50% of titanium feedstocks, generate 3.5 tons of waste per ton. The latter is expected to lose market share to the more environmentally friendly "natural" rutile, which has a production growth rate of 3.5% per annum. Serak estimates that 30,000 additional tons of rutile will be absorbed every year by world markets.

The company says that the project needs a highly competitive (discounted) price for a period in which the new mine establishes its credentials. High levels of efficiency and productivity will be needed to meet specifications and beat competitor prices. A secure market share once achieved will allow for the full exploitation of the high yield deposits and good returns for project partners.