Milled talc production, currently runningat around 18,000 tonnes/y, will betransferred to RTM’s Weisskirchenplant. The company is also closing a19,000 tonnes/y undergroundleucophyllite mine at Kleinfeistritz, butto compensate, a new open-pit mine isabout to commence operations in thesame area. At Rabenwold, the largesttalc deposit in Middle Europe, miningoperations are being transferred fromthe northern pit to the newly developedsouthern pit.

Industrial Minerals, Jun 2007, (477), 15

China: Annada – TiO2

Annada Titanium Industry Co Ltdintends to spend Yuan 148.65 M toexpand its TiO2 pigment capacity from30,000 tonnes/y to 40,000 tonnes/y bymid-2008. The company is listed on theShenzhen Stock Exchange and itrecently issued 20 million new sharesto raise finance to fund the expansion.

Annada’s sulfate-route TiO2pigment plant, located at Tongling-Tongguanshan (Anhui province),produces only anatase grades. In fact,Annada claims that it was the secondlargest producer of anatase TiO2 inChina, according to the nationallyassembled data for 2005.

Prior to 2004, the company’s TiO2capacity was only 4000 tonnes/y. Thenit expanded fivefold in early 2004. (See‘Focus on Pigments’, Jul 2004, 4).Between mid-2004 and mid-2007,another 10,000 tonnes/y was added.

China Chemical Reporter, 6 Jul 2007, 18 (19), 7

China: Cabot & Shanghai CokingChemical – carbon black

Cabot Chemical (Tianjin) Co Ltd, a70:30 joint venture between Cabot (ofthe US) and Shanghai CokingChemical (part of the Huayi group)commenced operating its 105,000tonnes/y carbon black plant at theTEDA chemical industrial park in theTianjin docks area in August 2006.The plant has been operating at fullcapacity since then.

Now, the company plans to installtwo new production lines, which willraise total capacity here to 250,000tonnes/y. The expansion project, forwhich budgeted investment is $65 M,should be completed within 15months. Cabot notes that the Tianjin

plant incorporates the most advancedwaste energy recovery andenvironmental technologies availableanywhere in the world.

Press Release from: Cabot Corp, Two Seaport Lane,Suite 1300, Boston, MA 02210 2019, USA, Website:http://www.cabot-corp.com (19 Jul 2007)

China: Guilin Jinshan – ultrafinecalcium carbonate

Construction work began in mid-Julyon a new 100,000 tonnes/y plant formaking ultrafine calcium carbonate atthe Tanxia Jinshan Industrial Park inLinshan county (Guangxi province).The plant is being built for GuilinJinshan Chemical Industry Co Ltd andit has been designed to employ Guilin’stechnology. The company is investingYuan 60 M in this project, which shouldbe completed by April 2008.

The project is described as the“third phase in Guilin Jinshan’sprogramme for commercialisingultrafine calcium carbonate productswith high added-value.”

Guilin Jinshan claims to be thelargest producer of “light calciumcarbonate” in China. Two years ago,the company was reported to havecommitted Yuan 150 M for theestablishment of a 300,000 tonnes/yplant at Jinshan for making “lightcalcium carbonate.” (See ‘Focus onPigments’, Aug 2005, 6).

China Chemical Reporter, 26 Jul 2007, 18 (21), 14

China: Qingdao Tianshi Chemical –optical brighteners

Qingdao Tianshi Chemical Industry CoLtd has started-up a 3000 tonnes/yplant for making liquid opticalbrighteners, which will be marketedunder the SBL-2 brandname. Theproduct is intended for use in the textileindustry, especially for cellulose-basedfibres and for polyester blends. SBL-2imparts a blue-violet luminescence. Ithas excellent acid resistance and it cantherefore be safely used in finishingfluids of acidic resins or in solutionswith a high electrolyte content.

China Chemical Reporter, 26 Jul 2007, 18 (21), 15

China: Shandong Dawn & WuxiBaoteng Traders – TiO2

Shandong Dawn Titanium Co Ltd hasbeen created as a new joint venture

between Baoteng Traders Co Ltd (ofWuxi-Xishan, Jiangsu province) andthe Dawn Group (of Shandongprovince). Wuxi Baoteng has someexperience as a trader in TiO2pigments, while the Dawn group hasmainly focused on trading with Korea,notably in plastics. The partners’ambitious plan is to invest Yuan 470M (about $60 M) to build a 100,000tonnes/y TiO2 pigment plant.

China Chemical Reporter, 26 Jul 2007, 18 (21), 10

China: Wuxi Xibao – TiO2

In June 2007, the environmentalregulatory authority of the Wuximunicipal government in Jiangsuprovince announced that it had issueda permanent closure order to WuxiXibao Titanium Industry Co Ltd inrespect of its 12,000 tonnes/y sulfate-route TiO2 pigment plant at Xishan-Houqiao on the eastern outskirts ofWuxi, by Lake Taihu. The closure orderwas issued because the company hadfailed to take appropriate measures tostop the discharge of spent sulfuric acidinto local waterways. Wuxi Xibao hadbeen selling TiO2 pigments under theB-101 brandname to domesticcustomers, as well as to overseascustomers in Australia, Japan and theUS.

The local government hasidentified 511 chemical plants that willbe closed by the end of 2008 unlessthey cease polluting Lake Taihu, andthe Xishan-Houqiao TiO2 plant is oneof 161 small chemical plants that havealready been ordered to shut downsince the beginning of this year.

TiO2 Worldwide Update, May/Jun 2007, 15 (3), 13

Europe: Schulman – plasticsmasterbatch technology centre

Although Schulman has itsheadquarters in the US, about 70% ofits sales revenue last year wasaccounted for by its European plasticsmasterbatch operations. The emphasison Europe will be even more markedthis year, following the takeover ofDeltaPlast, with masterbatch facilities inBelgium, Denmark, Germany and theUK. (See also ‘Focus on Pigments’,Aug 2007, 7).

Schulman recently opened a newEuropean Masterbatch TechnologyCentre at Bornem (Netherlands), built

OCTOBER 2007 5

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