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;. -The Jtaghrefc..countries have- a basic raw material position! in zinc with
about 8,000-tons of .'zinc, conceritrate per. year in Tunisia and 50rlpO, thousand tor';
per year of zinc concentrates from the Algerian/Moroccan "border. The larger
reserves are on the Algerian side of the border• ;
The.Waelz furnace at Zellidja (Morocco) produces zinc oxide. ,It could be refined by the Weatherili process to supply the whole regional demand.
A;plant ,of 4,000 tons capacity:in 1970 isproposed here, with 6,QQ0 tons in 1975 ahd 8,000 tons in, igSp, It would be. located in Morocco and,produce zinc oxide for the, whole sub-region...
(c) Titanium dioxide
, The most recently introduced and largest selling white pigment is titanium di.oxidei, TiO. can replace about 5 times the weight of other white pigment's...
It is mostly used together with zinc oxtd,e or with lithopone because TiO- has' a good covering power and a wonderful white effect,, Its protective power is
not so excellent, however. . . ,.-..,■
Originally, TiO2 was used mainly in the production of paints and printing ink, but today 40 per cent of total production finds application in paper, plastics, rubber, linoleum, cement, bitumen and man-made fibres. To meet these
diverse requirements 30 important world producers offer an estimated 3<$0 grades
of the material. * ' . -' "'■.'■'
p which appeared later on the market, than lithopone,, has since had
an enormous world-wide acceptance. ...
World demand of titanium dioxide is about 1,500,000 tons an<i is. increasing
7 per cent per year., .
Total TiO_ demand of the sub-region is estimated in the following table:
1965 1970 , 1975 1980
Tons ■ ' 2,500 3,500 4,700 , : ; 6*000
In the sub-region, only UAIl has made an attempt, at TiO? prpduction.; It was unsuccessful, according to information in Cairo* A satisfactory white product was never obtained because of incomplete removal .of, the iron from the
ilmenite.
,. The sub-region is not well placed for TiOp production. It has neither .a.basio. raw,material position -in.rutile or ilmenite nor in sulphuric acid
needed to wash out the iron. It takes close to a ton of sulphur to produce
a ton of TiO or 3 "tons H SO /ton TiO .
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Present capacities of TiO- plants are between 3,000 - 30,000 tons per Investment is about. J15 million for a.20,000 tons, .per year plant.
is felt t^t.TiO^ production..in Africa should only be;,|%u^ied for 'd:'fi^\nfii%)i^Al!3a. Sierra-Leone rutil The'. 100,o6o: ions. pe*\year
Leone of Sherbro'ianaral.Gjnade its firB,t;shipm^nis in
&?.-.'' .■:-■ (dY .Pigment extenders . -: . /. .. , ... .'"'". _■ ' „'■.'! J ;.1'"-. :_"'
\ -. -. •:■ ,\There, are, a number of natural white pigments which are. used-:ih cheaper paints, with the double purpose of pigmehting where grey white colours are acceptable and for extending the paint to bring cost of products down; to a
,.■..,- desired^. ;leyel:, .For instance:. .■ ■ ■ _■ : . ... . .■. ,_ ^ f:_
Sulphates: . ..",-_, . .. -.:,■./,. ■' -, : '""■.. ;.;,..,' ^".','.-r'iyM. ".".!'-.
- Barium sulphate (baryte, blanc fixes BaSO also, used in oil ««1:1 drilling as ingredient for drilling mud);4- -r-^:-:,. . ■■;.;..*.,,:,:.:K,L, 4l
i ■
- Calcium sulphate (gypsum, plaster of Paris^ Qa$O^M^Q)*'■■■■ \
''\- dalciuar-'bafbonate- (whiting, .cfealk); .; ■-.:.:. : 1 ■. ..
;-?J|agnesi,um carbonate (also..use,d.,as filler for rubber and plastics)
Silicates;
- - Silica, quartz (also required for frit production for ceramics and
for abrasives);- Talcum (soapstone steatite, magnesium silicate %^i.0,q (°^p
(Al_0.,Si0_;2Ho0)i -. _■-.-..,...,.,.
.,....: Blanc fixe, is a .precipitated .barium sulphate made by precipitation of soluble barium compounds with sulphuric acid or soluble sulphates* It is
but has poor' covering'powier. It is widely, used? ;as filler for as such'could-fin^butlets; an the rubber and ^tyre .factories in the
j&j&reeijdw-exL8fih' local piroduction of .groundsbarite;; in :s,pme of 'f tfie sub-r'egion ' ■ (e^g-f Morocco .and (Tunisia)*,::,. 1^; Algeria there
are 2 factories operat-i'ng,' SoAV^de's Barytfes. algerie.iinQs^. - ,-. < -,- ,...,*.oc--. ■ "
: Talcutff,:'Mso- called soapstone'or" steatite, belongs ;tp ;the,,group of silicates," ig^Si .0:-a(0if)-, and i£ used as .pigments ez^endj^-4SP-il''.04®.flE..;painlts»
It is produced iS the region in a high capacity modern facffeory. aeaE^ -Cairo, which could easily satisfy demand of the region till 1980o Production in
1965 reachWa^level -of r40,000. ; "
r ■■■■ ■Ji»jt3i^^i»35ii5aafesgs^i;^t«g^^
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■-. It.is felt that the factories already: present in the region for milling and grinding of natural products like local yellow and red,ochres, barytes, ■ calcite- -(limestone) kaolin . and talcum forpv^ty and as pigment .extenders for light Qoloured paints and' sls^e powder ^for dark■ paints^ should.be retained
;anct expanded* Improvements in equipment ai.d processes should be made, how ever, which will result in products of hig^ex* quality, ^specially, as regards purity, fineness of particle^ and colour* To this and, jet milling and wet grinding should be introduced* It should be realized that present day high quality paints require some raw materials of 5 microns particle size. More experience on the commercial side will .increase vojlunie of sales; and justify
investments, ■.■■■'■ ■>.(■■. . ' ><-' -■•-" * There should be at least one unit (of say 5 tons a day. initial: capacity -investment $50,000) in each country of the sub-region. I*t would include crush ing, grinding, washing, settling separation and drying equipment, *
B»; ■ Coloured pigments -. -.. ■ ■ .
(a) Iron pigments
Iron pigments with the colours yellow, red, brown and black constitute the greatest volume in the group of coloured pigments* Natural iron oxides, in the form of limonite and hematite, occur in most countries of the sub-region.
Pigments can be made of them provided the concentration is sufficiently high and the minerals are properly ndcronized to suit modern paint-baking require-ments, The trade names for such pigments are yellow and red ochre.
A rough estimate demand of iron oxides is the following:
1965 1970 1975 ... 1980
Tons 2,500 3,500 4,700 6,000
" In Morocco^ the Kettara mine produced yellow ochre/ but production was discontinued a few years agoe In the other 'countries of the Bub-region, the same situation was found, although some local paint manufacturers maintain
(;that natural iron pigments (locally produced at about $0,08/kg) are economic
propositions provided jet milling is■ introduced* ■ ' ■ /
High purity synthetic iron oxides of greater uniformity and fineness are often preferred by the paint industry, especially for formulating into the
."higher quality paints. - ' ■ :' ' ■ " . - ■ ■ ■. ■: ■ ■ :■■■•■■:■
■ VT; "She best quality iron oxides are" produced by air-oxidation of iron scrap under diluted iron chloride solution. ' Iron oxide pigments can also ;,be manu factured as a by-product in -railin manufacture. This possibility is being
explored in Egypt/ Synthetic iron oxides oan be tailored to the specific end us;
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(^g^f^fl^^^r^ngen^imalce^-more^h^ 2tf different'standard ".%j
to^x^^^B.-M^ njip^ures^ana sg&oa^^^es^iri a'^to^y'Wli'Vcapac
when'proposing projects.