Cultural Artefact: Rutile and Zircon mining
Summary
Rutile and Zircon, found in mineral sands, were mined on King Island's beaches in the 1960s to obtain titanium dioxide, used in paint manufacture, and zirconium dioxide, valuable for its ability to withstand high temperatures.
Details
In 1968 mainland company Mount Costigan Mines, through its subsidiary Naracoopa Rutile Ltd, set up a plant at Naracoopa on the east coast of King Island. Production began in 1969, but in three years the plant produced only 20,000 tonnes of rutile and 16,000 tonnes of zircon, due to inadequate reserves and difficulties in recovering the minerals. The company went into receivership in 1972.
Alison Alexander