RE: CA BEING MINED FOR TiO2 & NOT IRON ORE!!Galfan
Using the historic [but not NI43-101 compliant] figures of 133 million tonnes and 21% titanium dioxide [titanium oxide?] and $1700/tonne I come up with $46.481 Billion.
133,000,000 x .21 = 27,930,000 tonnes x $1700/tonne = $46.481 Billion. Not near as nice as 1.5 billion tonnes but still a hefty number.
The latest price I find for titanium dioxide is $1.12/lb = [if multiplied by 2204 lbs/tonne] $2,468 per tonne or $2240 per ton. I'm guessing the price is less per tonne than per lb. Does the titanium dioxide produce require additional processing to be used in foods etc? From Wikipedia....
"Titanium dioxide, also known as titanium(IV) oxide or titania, is the naturally occurring oxide of titanium, chemical formula TiO2. When used as a pigment, it is called titanium white, Pigment White 6, or CI 77891. Generally it comes in two different forms, rutile and anatase. It has a wide range of applications, from paint to sunscreen to food colouring. When used as a food colouring, it has E number E171."
Sweet!