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Australia-focused mineral sands and rare earths miner Iluka Resources has reported lower year-on-year production for most of its commodities owing to inventory management and a major maintenance outage in the quarter ended March 31.

The company’s zircon/rutile/synthetic rutile production totalled 87 000 t, comprising 24 000 t of zircon sand, 13 000 t of zircon in concentrate, 37 000 t of synthetic rutile and 12 200 t of rutile.


Zircon sand output decreased by 59% year-on-year, while synthetic rutile output decreased by 55% year-on-year.

The overall output of these commodities was 42% lower compared with the first quarter of last year, which saw the company produce 150 900 t of zircon/rutile/synthetic rutile.


Ilmenite production was also lower at 69 000 t, compared with 152 300 t produced in the same quarter of last year, marking a 54% year-on-year decrease.

The Narngulu mineral separation plant for zircon and rutile production had been offline for six weeks in the reporting period owing to inventory management, while the SR2 kiln for synthetic rutile had a major maintenance outage and remains offline owing to market conditions.

Iluka explains that an increased weighting of zircon sand in the sales mix reflects tighter market conditions for premium grade sand when compared with lower quality grades and concentrates in general. “Demand continues to reflect underlying consumption as customers remain reluctant to restock,” the company adds.

This while the titanium dioxide market appears to experience better seasonal demand, with pigment prices following the stronger demand trend.