Manufacture takes place by either the sulfate process or the chloride process and the main raw materials include ilmenite (FeO/TiO2), naturally occurring rutile, or titanium slag. In essence the process converts the impure TiO2 feedstock into an easy to purify intermediate, separates out the impurities then converts back to pure TiO2 .
The primary raw material in the titanium dioxide production process is ilmenite concentrate (FeTiO3), produced by mining and processing. Ilmenite is an ore that, from a chemical perspective, is a mixture of oxides, the majority of which are titanium and iron oxides.
The second most significant raw material for the tio2 manufacturing process is titanium slag, containing 75-90% TiO2 and 5-7% FeO.
Read also our article on titanium slag production process.
Natural and synthetic rutile, as well as ore fines, have secondary importance.