South Africa-based Rare Metals Industries (RMI) will build the world’s first integrated  titanium, zirconium, magnesium and  silicon treatment plant by 2015.

    The plant will produce 50,000 tpy magnesium, 8,000 tpy silicon and 2,000 tpy zirconium; it will beneficiate 15,000 tpy titanium with an export value of $500 million.

    The plant will cost between $1.2 billion and $1.5 billion and fits within the South African government’s titanium industry cluster strategy.

    South Africa’s National Empowerment Fund (NEF) and Industrial Development Corp (IDC) are joint shareholders in RMI, along with USA-based TJTI and Magnesium & Metals, which has operational experience in metallurgical plants and investments in Russia, the USA and Egypt.

    NEF and IDC have already concluded a license and technology agreement with Russian technical partner SMW Engineering; the plant will use Russian technology, according to Donovan Chimhandamba, RMI’s project chairman.

A pre-feasibility study is underway and will be completed in eight months.