Titanium Sands

The story of Titanium Sands Limited begins not on the beaches of Sri Lanka, but in the corporate offices of Perth, Australia. Incorporated in 1985, the company operated under the name Windimurra Vanadium Limited for decades before a strategic pivot. In December 2016, it changed its name to Titanium Sands Limited, signaling a new focus on heavy mineral sands. The company, led by Managing Director Dr. James Searle, a geologist with over 30 years of experience, turned its attention to the Mannar Island project in northwest Sri Lanka. The company's key asset is a significant heavy mineral sands deposit on Mannar Island. These sands contain valuable minerals like ilmenite, rutile, and zircon, which are crucial for producing titanium dioxide pigments used in paints, plastics, and paper. The project was not a new discovery, with drilling occurring as early as 2010, but Titanium Sands began a concerted effort to define and develop the resource after securing the project. A major step in this journey was the 2020 acquisition of Bright Angel Limited, a move that expanded their holdings on Mannar Island and significantly increased the project's total mineral resource. This was followed by a strategic partnership in 2023 with JAT Holdings, a prominent Colombo Stock Exchange-listed company. This deal involved acquiring JAT's associated company, James Global, further complementing their existing assets and providing a strong in-country partner to navigate the path to production. This move aims to position Titanium Sands as the first independent, foreign-funded company to export mineral sands in bulk from Sri Lanka, creating a new industry for the nation.