Institute of Geology of Ore Deposits, Petrography, Mineralogy and Geochemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia:

A. V. Lalomov, Leading Researcher, Professor, Candidate of Geological and Mineralogical Sciences, lalomov@mail.ru
A. V. Grigorieva, Senior Researcher, Candidate of Geological and Mineralogical Sciences

Voronezh State University, Voronezh, Russia:
A. V. Milash, Associate Professor, Candidate of Geological and Mineralogical Sciences
A. V. Chereshinsky, Associate Professor, Candidate of Geological and Mineralogical Sciences

Titanium is a strategic mineral resource widely involved in modern technological innovations in the aerospace industry, shipbuilding, medicine, manufacture of various plastics, as well as in the paint and construction industries. Meanwhile only 5% of titanium feedstock is used in metallurgy and 95% in production of titanium dioxide pigment. The Russian titanium industry uses imported feedstock, so the development of domestic deposits is an important task. For instance, the main source of pigment titanium dioxide for the Crimean Titanium Plant until recently was the Irsha group of deposits in Ukraine, genetically proximal eluvial–deluvial placers closely related to the ilmenite-bearing rocks of the Volodar–Volyn Lower Proterozoic gabbro-anorthosite complex. A characteristic feature of ilmenite of these deposits is a low degree of its secondary changes (leucoxenization). The ilmenite-bearing volcanogenic–sedimentary deposits of the Yastrebov suite of the Upper Devonian age in the southeast of the Voronezh anteclise (Pavlovsk placer area) can serve as a possible source of substitute for this feedstock. In contrast to the widespread distal coastal–marine rare metal–titanium placers containing leucoxenized ilmenite (Tsentralnoe in the Nizhni Novgorod Region, etc.), the placers in the Pavlovsk area belong to proximal placers. Yastrebov ilmenite is similar to Irsha feedstock in terms of its content, chemical composition, degree of variation and size of components. A disadvantage is the increased lithification and the depth of the formation. Ilmenite of the Pavlovsk placer area can be considered as a substitute for the imported feedstock for the Russian titanium industry in production of titanium dioxide pigment.
The studies were carried out under the state contract with the Institute of Geology of Ore Deposits, Petrography, Mineralogy and Geochemistry, RAS.

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