Tronox Holdings Plc's Business Segments

Tronox is a public limited company registered under the laws of the State of Western Australia. We are a global leader in the production and marketing of titanium bearing mineral sands and titanium dioxide (“TiO2”) pigment, and the world’s largest producer of natural soda ash. Titanium feedstock is primarily used to manufacture TiO2. Our TiO2 products are critical components of everyday applications such as paint and other coatings, plastics, paper, and other uses, and our related mineral sands product streams include titanium feedstock, zircon, and pig iron. Zircon, a hard, glossy mineral, is used for the manufacture of ceramics, refractories, TV screen glass, and a range of other industrial and chemical products. Pig iron is a metal material used in the steel and metal casting industries to create wrought iron, cast iron, and steel.

TiO2 Segment

TiO2 is used in a wide range of products due to its ability to impart whiteness, brightness, and opacity. TiO2 is used extensively in the manufacture of paint and other coatings, plastics and paper, and in a wide range of other applications, including inks, fibers, rubber, food, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals. Moreover, it is a critical component of everyday consumer applications due to its superior ability to cover or mask other materials effectively and efficiently relative to alternative white pigments and extenders. TiO2 is considered to be a quality of life product, and some research indicates that consumption generally increases as disposable income increases. At present, it is our belief that there is no effective mineral substitute for TiO2 because no other white pigment has the physical properties for achieving comparable opacity and brightness, or can be incorporated as cost effectively.

Our TiO2 segment includes the following:

exploration, mining, and beneficiation of mineral sands deposits;

production of titanium feedstock (including chloride slag, slag fines, rutile, synthetic rutile and leucoxene), pig iron, and zircon;

production and marketing of TiO2; and

electrolytic manganese dioxide manufacturing and marketing, which is primarily focused on advanced battery materials and specialty boron products.

Alkali Segment

Our Alkali business is the world’s largest natural soda ash producer. We provide our soda ash to a variety of industries such as flat glass, container glass, detergent and chemical manufacturing. Soda ash, also known by its chemical name sodium carbonate (Na2CO3) is a highly valued raw material in the manufacture of glass due to its properties of lowering the melting point of silica in the batch. Soda ash is also valued by detergent manufacturers for its absorptive and water softening properties. We produce our products from trona, which we mine at two sites in the Green River Basin, Wyoming. The vast majority of the world’s accessible trona reserves are located in the Green River Basin. According to historical production statistics, approximately one-quarter of global soda ash is produced from trona, with the remainder being produced synthetically, which requires chemical transformation of limestone and salt using a significantly higher amount of energy. Production of soda ash from trona is significantly less expensive than producing it synthetically. In addition, life-cycle analyses reveal that production from trona consumes less energy and produces less carbon dioxide and fewer undesirable by-products than synthetic production.

Our Alkali segment includes the following:

Dry mining of trona ore underground at our Westvaco facility;

Secondary recovery of trona from previously dry mined areas underground at our Westvaco and Granger facilities through solution mining;

Refining of raw trona ore into soda ash and specialty sodium alkali products; and

Marketing, sale and distribution of alkali products.

Our Alkali segment currently produces approximately 4 million tons of soda ash and downstream specialty products. All mining and processing activities related to our products take place in our facilities located in the Green River Basin of Wyoming, United States.