Information about Ilmenite

Appearance

Ilmenite is a black iron-titanium oxide mineral, which often occurs as massive vein-filling material, or as layers of mineral heavy sands.

Uses and History

It is the primary ore of titanium, an extremely important material. It is both a high performance metal, and also titanium dioxide is used as an important white pigment and an abrasive for polishing.

Ilmenite was named in 1827 after its type locality in the Ilmen Mountains of Russia.

Locales

There are numerous large ilmenite deposits worldwide, mostly as the mineral sand deposits that are commonly mined for industry.

Mineral specimens are less common, and are often extremely small, suitable only for micromount specimens.

Mineralogy

Hazards and Warnings

Almost all rocks, minerals (and, frankly, almost all other substances on earth) can produce toxic dust when cutting, which can cause serious respiratory conditions including silicosis.

When cutting or polishing rocks, minerals, shells, etc, all work should be done wet to minimise the dust, and a suitable respirator or extraction system should be used.

Translations

Further Reading / External Links

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ilmenite
• https://geology.com/minerals/ilmenite.shtml
• https://www.mindat.org/min-2013.html