In 2002, RJ Smith entered the world of mining through a relationship with Iluka Resources, one of the largest natural resource mining entities in the world.
A site in Stoney Creek, Virginia, had the world's second largest deposit of titanium, a mineral used in the majority of today's paints. With Dupont as Iluka's largest purchaser, production was critical.
RJ Smith had a certified General Surface Foreman on staff and complied with DMME and MSHA requirements during its tenure at the site. We fed mining units with excavators 24/7, three-hundred and sixty five days a year, and also built retention ponds for the by-product.
Iluka Resources Limited
Titanium mining project
Stoney Creek, Virginia
About Titanium Mining
Most of Iluka's titanium minerals products are used to manufacture titanium dioxide pigment. Pure white, highly refractive and ultra- violet absorbing, titanium dioxide is used in protective coatings such as house and car paints, sunscreens, plastics, paper, and textiles.
Because titanium minerals is non-toxic, non-fibrogenic and biologically inert it can be safely used in foodstuffs, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics.
Rutile and synthetic rutile are used to make titanium metal, which is essential to the aerospace industry because of its lightness, strength and durability. Titanium metal is also used in desalination plants and corrosive chemical industries, because of its inertness and resistance to corrosion. Its non-reactive properties make titanium metal one of the few materials that can be used in the human body as hip replacements and pacemakers.