Recovery of titanium from the leach liquors of titaniferous magnetites by solvent extraction

Southern African titaniferous magnetites from the Bushveld Complex provide a potential source of titanium, vanadium, and iron. Traditional approaches to recovering these metals have involved pyrometallurgical techniques: more recently, however, the use of hydrometallurgical routes is receiving attention. If the species of interest can be adequately solubilized by sulphuric acid, solvent extraction may enable high-purity solutions of titanium and vanadium to be produced. These could then be processed via a precipitation route to produce saleable oxide products. This review evaluates the open literature with respect to the aqueous chemistry and solvent extraction of titanium in acidic sulphate media. Some observations concerning the technical feasibility of this approach for the treatment of acidic sulphate liquors produced from the leaching of titaniferous magnetites are also presented.