Rutilated quartz from Minas Gerais, Brazil. The needle-like crystals are the rutile. Source: James St. John, CC BY 2.0 The chief mineral ores of titanium are rutile and ilmenite. Rutile is ...

So far in this series, pretty much every material we’ve covered has had to undergo a significant industrial process to transform it from its natural state to a more useful product. Whether it ...