PPG Partners For Titanium Dioxide

PPG Industries has entered a technical collaboration with Argex Mining with the goal of using PPG’s titanium dioxide know-how in a new large-scale plant to make the white pigment. Montreal-based Argex owns property in Quebec that it says is rich in titanium and vanadium ores. Argex operates a pilot plant where it converts the ore into titanium dioxide without the use of chlorine, which is needed in the most common production process. PPG announced in December that it wants to work with other companies to secure supplies of the increasingly pricey raw material for its paint business. “Volatile pricing for titanium dioxide continues to be an important issue for the company,” says PPG Chief Technology Officer Charles F. Kahle II.