Study of Valuable Impurities of Ore-Forming Titanium Minerals in the Ukraine

Abstract

Titanium ore is a critical raw material for the EU. Ukraine has significant titanium ore reserves, which are represented by several genetic types and have a number of advantages: the possibility of extracting raw materials for various purposes; favorable mining and geological conditions for most placer and residual deposits; complexity of objects. Ilmenite is the most important titanium mineral, most typical for basic and ultrabasic rocks of the crystalline basement and sedimentary rocks. The value of titanium ores is enhanced by the presence of valuable impurities(V, Sc, Ta, Nb). The quality of titanium ores is related to their degree of alteration. The degree of alteration of ilmenite influences on the industry where the concentrates are used and the development of their processing technologies. The authors have developed approaches to assessing this parameter and have shown the dynamics of changes in the chemical composition of ilmenite in the weathered crust and sedimentary rocks. Based on the statistical processing of data from the chemical analysis of titanium ores, it is shown that Sc has the highest concentrations in the ilmenite of the Korosten complex compared to other geological bodies of the Ukrainian Shield, which provokes the need to improve the relevant technologies.