Cape Minerals FZE

Fujairah, United Arab Emirates

Leucoxene* is a fine granular alteration product of titanium minerals. It varies in color from yellow to brown. It consists mainly of rutile or anatase. It is observed in some igneous rocks and iron ore deposits as the result of the alteration of ilmenite, perovskite, or titanite.

Rutile* is a mineral composed primarily of titanium dioxide, TiO2. Rutile is the most common natural form of TiO2. Two polymorphs of TiO2 are known:Anatase (sometimes known by the obsolete name "octahedrite"), a tetragonal mineral of pseudo-octahedral habitBrookite, an orthorhombic mineralRutile has among the highest refractive indices at visible wavelengths of any known crystal, and also exhibits a particularly large birefringence and high dispersion. Owing to these properties, it is useful for the manufacture of certain optical elements, especially polarization optics, for longer visible and infrared wavelengths up to about 4.5μm. Natural rutile may contain up to 10% iron and significant amounts of niobium and tantalum. Rutile derives its name from the Latinrutilus, red, in reference to the deep red color observed in some specimens when viewed by transmitted light. In large enough quantities in beachsands, rutile forms an important constituent of heavy minerals and ore deposits. Miners extract and separate the valuable minerals e.g., rutile, zircon, and ilmenite. The main uses for rutile are the manufacture of welding rods, refractory, ceramics, as a pigment, and for the production of titanium metal.

Zircon flour* is produced by milling Zircon sand (Zr Silicate). It is used in the ceramic industry in the manufacture of ceramic frits, brake coatings, foundry, glass, refractory and other applications.

The terms asphalt and bitumen* are often used interchangeably to mean both natural and manufactured forms of the substance. In American English, asphalt (or asphalt cement) is the carefully refined residue from the distillation process of selected crude oils. Outside the United States, the product is often called bitumen. Geological terminology often prefers the term bitumen. Common usage often refers to various forms of asphaltbitumen as "tar", such as at the La Brea Tar Pits. Another term, mostly archaic, refers to asphaltbitumen as "pitch".

Zirconium silicate*, also zirconium orthosilicate, (ZrSiO4) is a chemical compound, a silicate of zirconium. It occurs in nature as the zircon, a silicate mineral. Zirconium silicate is also sometimes known as zircon flour. Zirconium silicate is usually colorless, but impurities induce various colorations. It is insoluble in water, acids, alkali and aqua regia. Hardness is 7.5 on the Mohs scale. Zirconium silicate is used for manufacturing refractory materials for applications where resistance to corrosion by alkali materials is required. It is also used in production of some ceramics, enamels, and ceramic glazes. In enamels and glazes it serves as an opacifier. It can be also present in some cements. Another use of zirconium silicate is as beads for milling and grinding. Thin films of zirconium silicate and hafnium silicate produced by chemical vapor deposition, most often MOCVD, can be used as a high-k dielectric as a replacement for silicon dioxide in semiconductors. Zirconium silicates have also been used in medical applications. For example, ZS-9 is a zirconium silicate that was designed specifically to trap potassium ions over other ions throughout the gastrointestinal tract. ZS-9 is being developed for oral administration to treat hyperkalemia (increased serum potassium levels). Currently, the only product approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat hyperkalemia is sodium polystyrene sulfonate (Kayexalate). However, Kayexalate is an organic ion-exchange resin that nonspecifically entraps cations including potassium, magnesium, and calcium. Kayexalate has also been associated with cases of serious gastrointestinal adverse events and colonic necrosis

Iodine* is a chemical element with symbol I and atomic number 53. The name means violet or purple, due to the color of elemental iodine vapor. Iodine and its compounds are primarily used in nutrition, and industrially in the production of acetic acid and certain polymers. Iodine's relatively high atomic number, low toxicity, and ease of attachment to organic compounds have made it a part of many X-ray contrast materials in modern medicine. Iodine has only one stable isotope. A number of iodine radioisotopes are also used in medical applications. Iodine is found on Earth mainly as the highly water-soluble iodide ion I−, which concentrates it in oceans and brine pools. Like the other halogens, free iodine occurs mainly as a diatomic molecule I2, and then only momentarily after being oxidized from iodide by an oxidant like free oxygen. In the universe and on Earth, iodine's high atomic number makes it a relatively rare element. However, its presence in ocean water has given it a role in biology. It is the heaviest essential element utilized widely by life in biological functions (only tungsten, employed in enzymes by a few species of bacteria, is heavier). Iodine's rarity in many soils, due to initial low abundance as a crust-element, and also leaching of soluble iodide by rainwater, has led to many deficiency problems in land animals and inland human populations. Iodine deficiency affects about two billion people and is the leading preventable cause of intellectual disabilities.