Resumen de IM 2012 Round-ups: Titanium dioxide feedstocks
The first quarter of the year brought strong results from the largest feedstock producers, Rio Tinto, Iluka Resources, and Exxaro Minsands (Tronox), as profits soared on high prices and solid supply. Iluka alone reported a 53%-increase in sales for the fourth quarter of 2011.
Under the agreement, Tronox acquired all of Exxaro's minsands operations, which include Exxaro's 50%-interest in the Tiwest JV with Tronox in Western Australia, along with 74% of its KZN Sands and Namakwa Sands operations in South Africa.
Problems in the sector became more apparent by the end of the second quarter. Iluka Resources posted large falls in demand, with demand for rutile and synthetic rutile hit hard as sales-volume forecasts dropped 11-38% and 29-45% respectively. The company sold just 186,500 tonnes rutile and syn rutile for the first half 2012 compared with 246,100 tonnes in the first half of 2011.
