Hanau-Wolfgang complex, just east ofFrankfurt. The company plans tomake nanoparticulate zinc oxide inbatches of up to 1000 kilos, forapplications in optics, electronics,paints and coatings.

Performance Chemicals Europe (PCE), Dec 2003, 18(4), 6

India: Choksi – organic pigments

Choksi Pigments claims to be one ofthe fastest growing producers oforganic pigments in India, with anactive export marketing team. Thecompany’s current portfoliocomprises: 360 tonnes/y of crudecopper phthalo blue; 250 tonnes/y ofphthalo blue alpha (Pigment Blue 15and 15:1); 425 tonnes/y of phthaloblue beta (Pigment Blue 15:3); 300tonnes/y of phthalo green; and 480tonnes/y of various organic yellows,oranges and reds.

Plans are in hand to establishwarehousing facilities on both theeastern and western coasts of the US.A project to double Pigment Blue 15:3capacity to 900 tonnes/y is alsounderway.

Purchase, Nov 2003, 26 (11), 250

India: KMML – TiO2

Thanks to debottlenecking and line-balancing, Kerala Minerals & MetalsLtd (KMML) has raised the capacity ofits chloride-route TiO2 pigment plantat Sankaramangalam to 40,000tonnes/y. The ultimate objective of thecurrent expansion programe is toraise capacity here to 60,000 tonnes/y.

The company has long been theonly source of domestically producedrutile pigment grades and in recentyears it has become a prominentexporter. In the year to end-March2002, KMML exported only 1751tonnes of TiO2. In the last fiscal year,its exports increased to 7175 tonnes.For the current fiscal year, to end-March 2004, the export sales target is12,000 tonnes.

Mr T.J. Rajendran (ManagingDirector) recently announced thesigning of a contract to supply 2500tonnes to Shanghai Ying InternationalTrading Ltd Co. and this will be amajor boost to the company’s salesdrive in the Chinese market.

Business Line, 18 Nov 2003, 10 (318), 2

India: Tata Iron & Steel – TiO2

Tata Iron & Steel Co (Tisco) hasappointed a set of preferredcontractors in respect of its plannedsands-to-TiO2 pigment project.Investment in this project has beenassessed at Rup 28 bn altogether.The contractors include: OutokumpuLurgi, Larsen and Toubro (India) andPincock, Allen & Holt (US-basedconsultants).

Outokumpu Lurgi will cover the firststage of the project, including: techno-economic viability, financial analysis,metallurgical test work for mineralseparation and ilmenite upgradingfacilities; preparation of miningschemes, resource evaluation andgeological exploration.

Industrial Minerals, Dec 2003, (435), 19

Japan: Toyo Ink – iron oxides

Toyo Ink will spend Yen 500 M toinstall a new 2000 tonnes/y line at itsFuji iron oxides plant in Shizuokaprefecture. Output will be mainlychannelled to manufacturers ofmagnetic tape for data storage. Thenew line should be operational inSpring 2004.

APCJ, Asia Pacific Coatings Journal, Dec 2003, 16 (6),10

Netherlands: Tor Minerals – specialityalumina pigment/filler

Tor Processing & Trade BV – asubsidiary of Tor MineralsInternational – recently installed newfiltration equipment at its Hattemplant, near Rotterdam. As a result, thecompany can now operate twoindependent production lines here,facilitating increased production ofboth its Boehmite and Alupremproducts. Total overall capacity atHattem is now 10,000 tonnes/y.Boehmite is used mainly in thepetroleum industry as a carrier forcatalysts. Aluprem is a high-qualityspeciality alumina pigment/filler, usedin cast polymers, bulk mouldingcompounds and plastic wire and cableapplications.

Press release from: Tor Minerals International, 722,Burleson Street, Corpus Christi, TX 78402, USA, Tel:+1 512 882, Website: http://www.torminerals.com (20Nov 2003)

Russia: Empils – zinc oxide

ZOA Empils produced over 14,000tonnes of zinc oxide in 2003 and it isplanning to significantly increase itsoutput as part of the plannedmodernisation programme. TheMoscow Mezhdonarodny Bank ismaking a Rbl 100 M credit line opento Empils to help finance thisprogramme.

As well as being a significantpigments producer, Empils claims tobe the country’s largest manufacturerof paints for the private sector and aleading dyes manufacturer. Empils’paint production exceeded 70,000tonnes last year, while the company’sdyestuff production accounted for17% of total Russian output.

Farbe und Lack, Jan 2004, 110 (1), 12 (in German) &Vestnik khimicheskoi promyshlennosty, Dec 2003, 28(4), 32 (in Russian)

Sweden: Svenska Kaolin – kaolin

With prompting from Mr Ulf Kallaker,who has recently become a significantshareholder in Svenska Kaolin, thecompany has submitted a newapplication for open-cast mining of alarge kaolin deposit at Billinge insouthern Sweden. The applicationnotes that the deposit contains atleast 22 M tonnes of kaolin and thecompany intends to produce around200,000 tonnes/y of kaolin. SvenskaKaolin claims that it has devised newtechnical solutions which will lessenthe environmental impact of mininghere.

Svenska Kaolin’s original miningapplication was rejected by the VäxjöEnvironmental Court in 2001 and thatCourt’s decision was subsequentlyupheld by the Environmental AppealsCourt.

Dagens Industri, 27 Nov 2003, 28 (265), 25 (inSwedish)

CORRECTION

In ‘Focus on Pigments’, Nov 2003, 2,we reported on the outstanding debtposition of Millennium Chemicals (theworld’s second largest TiO2 pigmentproducer), as at the end of September2003. This should have read: “Thecompany has a total outstanding netdebt of $1.2 bn, but most of this debtcomes to maturity either in 2006($540 M) or in 2008 ($476 M).”

JANUARY 2004 7

F O C U S O N P I G M E N T S