The South African paint industry is facing a shortage of titanium dioxide - which is used as a pigment for whitening paints - and prices of the mineral are likely to escalate soon.Speaking at a recent South African Paint Manufacturing Association (SAPMA) Suppliers' Evening in Bedfordview, Wayne Williams, industrial product manager at CJP Chemicals, said the shortage of titanium dioxide and the global quest for new sources of the mineral would likely push prices of the pigment up by over R40 per kilogram by the end of this year. In South Africa, proposed titanium strip mining in eco-sensitive wetlands nearMtunzini on the KwaZulu-Natal north coast is being strongly contested.
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