Rio Tinto begins producing titanium in Madagascar

Ok, it's such a hell of a week for Rio Tinto but everything’s not lost: the company announced that its subsidiary Rio Tinto Iron & Titanium began producing ilmenite (iron and titanium oxide) at the minerals sands of Fort Dauphin in Madagascar. The project is a joint-venture between the company and the local government which holds 20% while the British-Australians have 80%; according to them, local ilmenite has 60% of titanium oxide, making it higher quality than most other global sources.

The production will be sent to a Rio Tinto plant in Sorel-Tracy, Canada, where it will be processed; both the Canadian and the African projects received US$ 1.2 billion in investments and the activities in Madagascar will help local communities: Rio Tinto is investing in infrastructure improvements such as paving roads and building a new port while the mining activities are already boosting local economy: Fort Dolphin is located in southern Madagascar, one of the least developed areas in the country.