Processing of Ukrainian Ilmenite-bearing Heavy Sands as a Contribution to Improving Europe’s Self-supply in Critical Raw Materials from Its Own Deposits

The REPTiS project (Responsible Extraction and Processing of Titanium and Other Primary Raw Materials for Sourcing EU Industrial Value Chains and Strategic Sectors) addresses the urgent need for a secure and sustainable supply of titanium and other critical raw materials (CRMs) within the EU. Given the EU’s dependency on imports and the risks of supply chain disruptions, REPTiS focuses on the responsible extraction and processing of titanium and other CRMs from heavy mineral sands. The main aim of this dissertation is to optimize the current beneficiation process in Ukraine to enhance ilmenite (FeTiO3) recovery while developing new approaches for extracting valuable by-products such as rare earth elements, niobium, tantalum, and scandium. Further, a whole new processing scheme for unused weathering crust sands will be developed and implemented in the beneficiation process. Additionally, the potential use of kaolinite as an additive feedstock in the concrete industry will be evaluated.