Mineral sands hot under foot

摘要

Sand mining, to purists, is not really mining; it's more akin to gardening. But the end products of digging up mineral sand such as zircon, rutile and ilmenite, can be very profitable at the right time of the cycle, which is about now judging by recent production reports and share prices. Iluka Resources, one of the biggest pure-play sand miners, has been blazing a trail for the sector with a share price that has doubled over the past two years as a combination of increasing output and higher prices has attracted investors back to a business that had been a disappointment for much of the previous five years.