2. On one measure, Vietnam has the
world’s second largest resources of titanium minerals
Estimated by SonMinerals : TZMI, USGS
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3. Most of it is concentrated in the
Binh Thuan – Ninh Thuan area
Vietnamese TiO2 resources by province 2012
Unit : million tons of Tio2
Estimated by SonMinerals
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4. The Red Sands area is where the bulk of resources are
Mineralassembly :
15% Zircon 3% Rutile,
0.8 % Monazite, 70% Ilmenite
Slime: 13%
Resources: ≈550 mills ton of HM @ 0.6 ‐1.2 %HM
Area : ≈ 780 km2
South Asia Industrial Minerals Conference 2012 28/06/2012 4
5. The national government is driving development
through “Master Plans”
The first master Plan was established in 2007
Objectives:
• Stop the export of raw materials and the import of
processed value‐added products
• Create downstream processing industries for titanium
minerals and zircon
• Encourage long‐term stable development of resources
suited to domestic industry
South Asia Industrial Minerals Conference 2012 28/06/2012 5
6. Progress so far
• Raw material exports have been restricted
• Taxation has increased on raw material exports
(ilmenite and zircon sand)
• Taxation has reduced on value‐added products
(titanium slag and milled zircon)
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7. Progress so far
Downstream processing plants have been built
• Five new titanium slag plants
• Five new ilmenite upgrading plants
• Ten new zircon milling plants, with two more
under construction
• One zirconium chemical plant under
construction
• Three licenses for investigating TiO2 pigment
plan : Two in Binh Thuan, one in Ha Tinh
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8. A second Master Plan is in development
Objectives of this Plan:
• To get tougher on the export of raw minerals
• Require downstream processing commitments
before granting mining licences
• To create a plan for the development of the Red
Sands resources
• Drive towards the development of a domestic
TiO2 pigment industry.
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9. A domestic TiO2 pigment industry faces several
challenges
• Growth of domestic TiO2 consumption
• Finding export markets for TiO2 pigment
• Selecting a suitable technology for local
conditions
South Asia Industrial Minerals Conference 2012 28/06/2012 9
11. Domestic TiO2 pigment can soon support
a pigment plant
40,000
35,000
30,000
25,000
20,000
15,000
10,000
5,000
‐
2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012f 2013f 2014f 2015f 2016f
• Compound annual growth rare > 10%
• A 30k tpa plant can be build to support local high grade TiO2 consumption
South Asia Industrial Minerals Conference 2012 28/06/2012 11
12. There are export markets available for Vietnamese
TiO2 pigment
• The obvious market is China.
• However, China is a very large pigment
producer and exporter.
• Imports to China are of high quality pigment.
• Potential market for Vietnamese pigment are
large regional economies such as Philippines,
Thailand and Indonesia
South Asia Industrial Minerals Conference 2012 28/06/2012 12
13. There are three technologies to choose from:
Chloride process:
Produces nearly of 60% global TiO2
Mostly operated by Top 5 global producers
Altair process:
No plants in operation anywhere in the world
Sulfate process:
Produces about 40% of global TiO2
Virtually all Chinese plants use sulfate
technology
South Asia Industrial Minerals Conference 2012 28/06/2012 13
14. Sulfate technology is best suited
to Vietnamese conditions
Sulfate technology Chloride technology
• Uses Vietnamese ilmenite • Ilmenite is difficult to use
and local slag as feedstock and must be >60% TiO2,
rutile or chloride slag
• Economic at 30kt/a • Need large‐scale >60kt/a
• Technology is widely • Technology is closely held
available
• Relatively easy to operate • Operation requires
successfully extensive experience
South Asia Industrial Minerals Conference 2012 28/06/2012 14
15. Vietnam has the potential to become a centre of TiO2
minerals processing
• The domestic resources are available
• The domestic market is growing, and there are
regional export markets
• Government policies are in place to encourage
development
• What is needed is greater technical expertise to
be applied to the various challenges.
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16. Thank you
www.sonminerals.com
South Asia Industrial Minerals Conference 2012 28/06/2012 16
