Richard Bay Minerals

Heavy metals from the dunes of Africa

Richards Bay Minerals (RBM) was formed in 1976 to extract and process the heavy minerals that occur in the dunes to the north and south of Richards Bay on South Africa's east coast. The company uses a dredge operation to mine rutile, zircon, high purity pig iron and titanium slag of which it has a 25 per cent share of the global market.
 
Titanium slag, is derived from ilmenite and is used primarily in the manufacture of titanium dioxide pigment which, when mixed with paint, plastics or paper, imparts a brilliant glossy white finish.

The other product derived from ilmenite is high quality pig iron which is used extensively in the automotive industry for the production of safety-critical parts such as brake callipers and steering knuckles.

Rutile is used in both welding fluxes and the manufacture of titanium metal which finds it way into a wide array of products from space craft to artificial limbs. In the ceramics industry zircon is used as an opacifier to make glazes transparent in table ware, tiles and sanitary ware.

From its inception, RBM embarked on an award-winning social investment programme and a dune rehabilitation project which has received world-wide recognition.