Titanium is the ninth most abundant element on Earth. It is almost always present in igneous rocks and the sediments derived from them. It occurs in the minerals ilmenite, rutile and sphene and is present in titanates and many iron ores.

Titanium is produced commercially by reducing titanium(IV) chloride with magnesium. Titanium(IV) oxide is produced commercially by either the ‘sulfate process’ or the ‘chloride process’, both of which use the mineral ilmenite as a starting material.