Pitfield Minerals produces rutile TiO₂ pigment from Quebec ore

Pitfield Minerals Corp., a Canadian mineral exploration company, has successfully produced uncoated rutile titanium dioxide (TiO₂) pigment through bench-scale testwork. The material was sourced from the company’s Pontax titanium project located in the James Bay region of Quebec, Canada.

The production was achieved using a sulphate process route at an independent laboratory, marking the first confirmed pigment production from the project’s ore. The resulting pigment met standard specifications for uncoated rutile TiO₂, with brightness and whiteness values consistent with commercial benchmarks.

The process involved upgrading ilmenite through magnetic separation and other beneficiation steps before undergoing sulphate digestion to yield the pigment. Pitfield Minerals stated that the results confirm the suitability of the Pontax ore for conventional TiO₂ pigment production methods. Future testwork is expected to focus on process optimization and the potential production of coated TiO₂ pigment grades, which hold higher market value for industrial and architectural applications.