Australian-based Titanium Sands has taken further steps towards securing the mining license for its Mannar Island heavy mineral sands project in Sri Lanka.

The company has submitted formal documentation to Sri Lanka’s Central Environmental Authority (CEA), representing a key part of the formal application process. Following Titanium Sands’ application for the mining licence in January 2023, the company has indicated that its exploration reports have been assessed by the Sri Lankan Geological Survey and Mines Bureau (GSMB) which has also signed off approval for an environmental assessment to begin.

Titanium Sands acquired the property in December 2018, and have since made further acquisitions of adjacent properties, holding 100% ownership of the project. The heavy mineral sands project has an initial JORC inferred resource of 10.3Mt at a grade of 11.7% total heavy minerals with ilmenite, an important titanium feedstock, as the most abundant mineral. Additionally, the Sri Lakan government has also updated legislation that would promote investment into heavy mineral sands as part of a government strategy to transition to an export-based economy.

Titanium metal demand is forecast to grow by more than 50% of its current level over the next decade, while demand linked to titanium metal’s key driver, the aerospace industry, is forecast to almost double by 2033. Demand growth is compounded by the recovery of the aerospace industry, which has left titanium metal supply in surplus since travel restrictions and lockdowns enforced during the COVID-19 pandemic. While aerospace demand has been low, new metal applications in cell phones replacing stainless steel have been able to scoop up available supply. But with commercial air travel on track to recovery and Russia’s titanium supply chain impacted by the war in Ukraine, Project Blue forecasts aerospace-grade material to tighten quickly.

Given this demand growth and potential new applications, projects like Mannar Island could provide significant titanium raw material feedstock, the price of which is currently elevated due to a surge in Chinese production of titanium metal related to non-aerospace applications.